A Day in the Life of a SANCCOB Penguin: Eat, Swim, Poop, Repeat

A day in the life of a SANCCOB penguin is generally quite repetitive. That goes for the volunteers as well however we are kept very busy. Work starts at 8am and after checking the schedule I would get the chart for whichever pen I was working that day and start preparing to give darrows and medication. Darrows are a sort of "energy drink" for penguins, much like Gatorade, and are made up of water and a mix of electrolytes and vitamins to boost the immune system. They are given first thing in the morning and right before we leave at night and are tubed just like water, with 250mL for juveniles and small or weak birds, and 500mL for adults and Gannets. Darrows are usually prepared the night before so the next day they can be given first thing.

Although many of the outdoor pens containing the stronger birds follow similar schedules, this day is based on a day working in Pen 3, a versatile pen that was being used to hold healthy birds that had been oiled and rehabilitated and were about to be released. After receiving their darrows, it would be time to start preparing fish. A healthy adult can eat up to six fish in a sitting, and by the time they are ready to leave, many are free feeders. Because the penguins are wild, they do not accept dead fish so they are force fed however many do not need to be held and will eat out of your hand. Fish have to be thawed and sorted and during the morning feed, each penguin must receive one medicated fish and about 3-5 others. To medicate a fish you simply open its mouth and put in a pill, which changes daily based on the designated vitamin regime, but usually includes a fisheater tablet or beefee tablet. Some birds who cannot keep down very much receive fishtails, which are made by cutting the fish in half diagonally from behind the anal fin to in front of the dorsal fin. The remaining half of the fish is usually used to make formula. Fishtails are also medicated by sprinkling Calsup or Beefee powder over them. Once the fish is prepared, I would usually grab a good amount of towels and on this day I had to prepare for the rain!

The next job was to brave the rain, set myself up under a heat lamp, and start pleasing some very hungry penguins. They are held in the same way as when they are tubed, with the gloved hand (I use my left) holding the beak open and the other (my right) feeding.  

It is important to never handle fish with the gloved hand and to wipe off your feeding hand before touching the penguin as the oil from the fish removes the waterproofing oils on the penguin's feathers. Extra towels are also important because blood and oil can get on the penguin's face and body when it is eating and must be wiped off, also to avoid compromising their waterproofing. After all the penguins have been fed they are either hosed off or go for a swim to wash off the oil, especially on cold days when they spend all day outside. Without their waterproof outer feathers, they cant insulate themselves or stay dry in the deeper layers of their feathers.

Once all of my birds are nice and full after their morning feeding, its time for a swim. Since the birds I was taking care of that day were about to be released, they swim for an hour in the morning, an hour in the afternoon, and can swim whenever they want during the night. Once all the birds are in the pool, I clean up, scrub and sanitize their pen until its time for them to come out.

 

 Since I had the tallest boots on this day I had to get in the pool and help herd in some of the juveniles. When the younger penguins learn to swim for the first time at SANCCOB, having come to us as baby blues and not yet waterproof, they often never want to get out of the water!

The rest of the day basically consists of the birds finishing their morning swim, getting 12 o'clock water and medication if necessary, my lunch break, lunch for the birds right afterward, lots of pooping on their part, another swim, and lots more cleaning on my part, and finally some afternoon darrows before setting up for the night. the pool gates are opened for the night so they may swim as much as they would like with no competition with other pens for pool time. The heat lamps are turned on in the winter and each bird receives a bit of insect repellent rubbed on their heads to keep away the mosquitoes. I prepare darrows for the morning, clean up anything else I used that day, and finally change out of my oilskins and rush home to shower, as you can imagine how lovely the volunteers smell after a full day of cleaning up after penguins and gutting fish. After an ordinary day like that I am usually so tired I fall asleep by 8 o'clock, only to wake up at 7:00 to return to work for another day of penguin poop control.