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Soooo...I sorta really want to hatch an emu egg

post #1 of 3
Thread Starter 

I don't know if I should post this here or on the hatching part, but that seems mostly for chicken folk.  So here's my question.  Is it very hard?  I mean, i've had some bad luck with mailed chicken eggs, is it the same for emu eggs?  ARe they pretty hardy?  Any recommended readings?  Thanks!  btw...I better get started on soon while my husband is on deployment, so he can't say no.  ;)

Proud Navy Wife, Army Veteran, mom to KK- 3, and V- 6 mo., 1 Boxer- Hurley and hopefully some fuzzy butts soon!
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Proud Navy Wife, Army Veteran, mom to KK- 3, and V- 6 mo., 1 Boxer- Hurley and hopefully some fuzzy butts soon!
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post #2 of 3

Well I had never tried incubating an egg before, much less the world's second largest bird but I had two Emu eggs shipped from Kansas to Idaho, they're both just a few days from hatching and they're wiggling and tapping on the shell so I'd say if I can do it you can too.

 

The best resource I've found is actually this forum right here, especially the Hatchalong thread and I'd be happy to pass on what I've read and learned.

 

It's really just a matter of getting an incubator, testing it out, ordering the eggs, then turning them back and forth by hand for the next month and a half and weighing them weekly to be sure you have the humidity right. 

I'm using a GQF Genesis 1588 incubator and they just upgraded these to have a digital display on them from what I was told by the place I bought mine from, mine is the older model with rocker switches and I'd definitely recommend the digital display for setting the temperature.

Humidity is simple to deal with, you just set a cup of water inside and let the heat of the incubator do the rest, then check the weight of the egg weekly on a good scale to adjust it.

There are quite a few Emu egg sellers around, it's best to look around locally first as shipped eggs do get mistreated from time to time, especially over long distances.  I got my two from Kalaya Emu Estates, just ordered on their site but they also sell on Ebay, sometimes a bit cheaper or in package deals with several eggs.

 

The only hard thing I've found about the whole experience is the wait, especially when they start moving.

post #3 of 3
Quote:
Originally Posted by kvmommy View Post

I don't know if I should post this here or on the hatching part, but that seems mostly for chicken folk.  So here's my question.  Is it very hard?  I mean, i've had some bad luck with mailed chicken eggs, is it the same for emu eggs?  ARe they pretty hardy?  Any recommended readings?  Thanks!  btw...I better get started on soon while my husband is on deployment, so he can't say no.  ;)

Hi, I had a post here with the emu farmers handbook, The post you should find it below here at the forum. I think the bad thing its to wait 50 days and not shure if you have life there, and turning manually as with automatic turners hatchability is no good
 

 

4 dogs,2 macaws,2 lorys, lovebirds,swans,peackoc,peafowl,a lot of chickens and a husband...... definetly I live a full life !!!! Lots of meals!!!! and hungry ones but I enjoy it!
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4 dogs,2 macaws,2 lorys, lovebirds,swans,peackoc,peafowl,a lot of chickens and a husband...... definetly I live a full life !!!! Lots of meals!!!! and hungry ones but I enjoy it!
Reply
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