Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Emu Plans

I have a confession. I have a soft spot in my heart for large birds. I love peacocks, I love ostriches, and I love Emus. I do.

Photo: Sports-o-nista.blogspot.com 
Sonja at Benson's Wild
Animal Farm, NH
I remember seeing Disney's Swiss Family Robinson movie as a child, captivated by the scene where they participate in Ostrich riding races. The closest I have ever been to an Ostrich or Emu was playing "tag" with one while visiting a zoo as a young girl. In my memory, I have the scene of me tip-toeing up behind an Emu at the Kismet Preserve and touching it. It jumped, turned tail and chased me across the lawn. When my legs couldn't carry me anymore, I stopped, scared and not knowing what to expect. The Emu stopped, too. Then, it turned and ran the other way. So, I chased it. We did this dance back and forth for quite while as my family watched on in amusement. My mother remembers it being an ostrich at Benson's Wild Animal Farm. Whichever version is true, I have always secretly wanted to have one someday.

Photo Courtesy of Abundance Farms
Photo Courtesy of Abundance Farms
But, I live in Maine. And, people in Maine do not routinely keep emus or ostriches or even peacocks. So I locked these thoughts into the corner of my mind filed under "Someday I hope to..." and that is where it lived quietly until last weekend. Somehow the topic of emus came up between Sean and I. I shared my memory with him and confided my desire to "someday" keep a small flock of emus here. Sean asked some good questions, like; Where would we keep them? How would they earn their rent? Do you know anyone who keeps Emus? I did not realize how much I had thought about really keeping Emus here until I heard myself address each question. "I would like to keep them in the pasture with the goat does or kids." * "I can make them profitable by selling their eggs to people who want to carve them, eat them, or hatch them. I can use the eggs for making jewelry or home decor pieces. Also, we could hatch and sell young emus." * "Marissa Carabin of Abundance Farms keeps emus. I will contact her to ask her about them." Sean looked at me a long minute and then said, "If you really want an Emu, I think we should get some."

Photo Courtesy of Abundance Farms
I do really want emus, but first things first. There were some pretty important things I did not have answers to: How would they do in the cold weather? What do they eat? How long do they live? Today was research day. I could not find web pages of anyone local who keeps emus, but that is okay. I started my search for information at the American Emu Association website. I read a half dozen of Marissa's blog posts about her experiences keeping emus. And, I found a well-written guide about emu care at Sybil's Den.

Photo Courtesy of Abundance Farms
My research has turned up these basic facts: Emus are a member of the ratite family. They are omnivores and eat foods similar to that of our local wild turkeys. A commercial ratite food is available at some feed stores. (I made a note to call ours to see if they could order me some if I needed it.) They grow to 5-6 feet at the head and can weigh 110-140 pounds on average. I found conflicting reports of how long emus can live. One report suggested they can live to be around 30 years of age! They do fine in cold weather, but like any animal, they require adequate shelter and appropriate fencing to keep them safe and plenty of room to run. I read accounts of emus living with pasture animals and saw pictures of them playing in ponds like ducks or geese. I saw pictures of people hand feeding them. I also read about the struggle to return them into their pen and the various bruises that resulted. There is a lot to consider.

Photo Courtesy of Abundance Farms
I have more research ahead of me. I am a planner by nature. It took us two years to find and purchase our heritage turkeys. I would like to be ready to obtain a couple emu chicks or six fertile hatching eggs this summer, but I am prepared to wait longer. I want to find the perfect ones for us. In the meantime, I can plan and I can dream. ♥

If you haven't had the opportunity to do so, I highly recommend a visit John & Marissa at Abundance Farms . Marissa takes fantastic images of her flocks and herds. I appreciate her allowing me to use some of them in writing this article.

Thanks for visiting with me this evening, friends. I am sure glad for your company.
Sonja ♥



4 comments:

  1. I am fascinated by Emus - I can't wait to see how it goes for you!

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  2. I live in Maine and we are considering emus. I would love to know how this turns out for you!

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  3. id like to know how MUCH they eat.

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