Otago Peninsula Trust marketing manager Sophie Barker said the 23 chicks at Taiaroa Head albatross colony were preparing to fledge from the end of this month.
The adult albatrosses had put the chicks "on a diet" because they needed to shed weight, she said.
The chicks "have to get down to flight weight because they are quite chubby".
A 7-month-old chick was the heaviest of the newborns, weighing "a whopping 13.4kg".
An adult albatross weighed up to 8kg.
The parents were feeding the chicks less and making them "waddle over" to a place to eat to ensure they were getting exercise.
The chicks were preparing to fledge, "flapping in the breeze to test their wings".
"They are stretching their 3m-long wings ... they have to build muscle," Ms Barker said.
When the chicks left Dunedin, they would live at sea for between four and 10 years.
"They don’t touch land until they return to Taiaroa Head."
When the chicks fledged this year, adult albatrosses were expected to return to breed.
Church bells would ring across the city to welcome the first albatross back, she said.
The Royal Albatross Centre was cut off by a slip for 12 days after the flood last month, making things "incredibly stressful".
The centre was open now and it was a good time to see the chicks before they fledged, Ms Barker said.
The chicks were looking "fluffy and huggable".
"But they smell of fish and regurgitated squid."
