General Emu Care

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Formica123

Formica123

Hatching
Nov 26, 2016
4
0
7
Can anybody advise me on the general upkeep of an emu?
I'm wanting to get one, what size cabin would it need to sleep in? I have one that's big enough for a person that's not being used that should be ok.
Also, is 7 acres enough land for them to roam?
What kind of food should I provide?
Thanks,
Formica
 
You will provide a cabin. Emoo will likely ignore it. (They have all-weather feather pyjamas!)

Correct fencing is the issue -- read back posts: it's been discussed at great length.

Feeding pet emus has also been much discussed. Until you get up to speed on the basics, please splurge on some yummy greens for them.

And they love currants, etc.

There is years and years of wisdom to be found in the back posts.
 
So they will sleep outside? Even in winter?!

I'll get them some good electric fencing - even though there's not many predators around here, just the odd wild boar that might scare them really.

I imagine their food will be similar to the pigs but in larger quantities.
Cabbage, leattuce, cucumber etc.
 
Keep reading up on fences: I don't think electric one are the go.

Here's a Bigger Perspective:

the major risks to pet/captive emus are human-made: diseases not present in Australia, injuries on fences they try to climb while panicked; predators they can't get away from, unbalanced diet, etc.

Conversely, think about their natural state -- like not having little cabins to sleep in*. Emus are hardy and self-sustaining. So, broad and well-researched diet, lots and lots and lots of space per bird, trees and shrubs (and water -- emus love to swim).


*much Internet and even 'official academic' data on emus is demonstrably wrong; but I do understand that they range naturally into pretty high -- cold -- areas of the Great Dividing Range.





-- this clip really gets my dander up. The person who posted it knows nothing about emus. The chicks are not 'her friends.' They are cowering in terror before a threatening adult bird -- isn't it obvious from their posture? My point is: bare open pen.

-- note how much like Australian bush this enclosure is. A place to get out of direct sight of a more powerful bird is v. important if you can't do what they do in the wild: run away.

se
 
briefvisit said:
Keep reading up on fences: I don't think electric one are the go.

Here's a Bigger Perspective:

the major risks to pet/captive emus are human-made: diseases not present in Australia, injuries on fences they try to climb while panicked; predators they can't get away from, unbalanced diet, etc.

Conversely, think about their natural state -- like not having little cabins to sleep in*. Emus are hardy and self-sustaining. So, broad and well-researched diet, lots and lots and lots of space per bird, trees and shrubs (and water -- emus love to swim).


*much Internet and even 'official academic' data on emus is demonstrably wrong; but I do understand that they range naturally into pretty high -- cold -- areas of the Great Dividing Range.





-- this clip really gets my dander up. The person who posted it knows nothing about emus. The chicks are not 'her friends.' They are cowering in terror before a threatening adult bird -- isn't it obvious from their posture? My point is: bare open pen.

-- note how much like Australian bush this enclosure is. A place to get out of direct sight of a more powerful bird is v. important if you can't do what they do in the wild: run away.

se
Click to expand...
Do you think it would be okay to keep an emu or two with a few goats? The pasture I have is a 1.5 acres and has a layer of pallets creating an extra boarder. It is also 6 feet tall. The barn for them is large and very secure.
 
Just passing through:

the archives of BYC are a splendid resource. There are pages and pages of discussions about enclosures and what animals emus get along with. So, wild guess? ('cause I'm Wild-Emu Guy not Captive-Emu Guy . . . ) Perhaps. I'd be looking at where the emu came from -- how used to people and other animals it already is, and whether the goats and other animals are nice people -- what if it's a grumpy goat??

There is a member here named 'E.S.' though I don't know if he still posts regularly. He would have a valuable opinion.

Final Note: power shifts over time. So, one might introduce the emu to the goats and others. Then see what happens. Then perhaps you add another emu, could the situation change?

S.E.

[The last two of Eric's orphaned 'chicks' are here today -- big sooks! They are neeeeaarly adults -- 23 months. You can still see the 'clutch thing' between them: they always move as a pair. It's lily pilly season -- you can look up 'lily pilly.' I have a big ol' stick, and I wallop the tree good, and bring down loads of lily pillies, and LimpyChick and Tooshtoosh rush in and gobble them up.]
 
Pardon my frankness:

what I see are shocking under-estimations of the time and costs involved.
 

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