Can Emus Get Lonely?

TehLizardKing · Oct 21, 2014

Yeah... Can emus get lonely? I know they aren't clingy-flock-birds like chooks or 'tiels by nature, but I was just wondering if an emu that was never exposed to another of its kind would be happy?

I'm going to be getting my first emu as soon as the flock I'm buying from start laying this year... I'm now wondering if I should get two?

Oh also, I'm hatching eggs because I would like properly tame babes, but then they may turn out to both be males and fight when they're older, or one might hatch but not the other, thus having one chick on its own (if that's a problem) Unfortunately I have nowhere to separate them into if needed to. Him/They will be kept in an acre paddock when we are out, and let out into the full 2 1/2 acres when we're home. If I buy as day old chicks, will they most likely be as tame as self-hatched, or will I then lose the imprint? Anyway, any advice is appreciated... thanks y'all!

chooks4life · Oct 21, 2014

TehLizardKing said:
Yeah... Can emus get lonely? I know they aren't clingy-flock-birds like chooks or 'tiels by nature, but I was just wondering if an emu that was never exposed to another of its kind would be happy?

I'm going to be getting my first emu as soon as the flock I'm buying from start laying this year... I'm now wondering if I should get two?

Oh also, I'm hatching eggs because I would like properly tame babes, but then they may turn out to both be males and fight when they're older, or one might hatch but not the other, thus having one chick on its own (if that's a problem)

Click to expand...

Unfortunately I have nowhere to separate them into if needed to. Him/They will be kept in an acre paddock when we are out, and let out into the full 2 1/2 acres when we're home. If I buy as day old chicks, will they most likely be as tame as self-hatched, or will I then lose the imprint? Anyway, any advice is appreciated... thanks y'all!

Click to expand...

Some hatcheries handle theirs regularly, others almost not at all. If you want tame birds, you'd probably do best if you hedged your bets and tried to get an imprinted bird from a hands-on hatchery that culls for temperament faults. Even then of course there's no guarantee.
Best wishes.

briefvisit · Oct 22, 2014

As fast as i can type:

I think so. We have had this discussion over the years. Emus are much more 'flocky' than the ornithological term 'solitary' suggests.

When you watch them in the wild, you see that they are more often together; that they love to squabble; they love to graze quietly in groups.

If you have the space, try to at least get a bird a mate.

SE

chooks4life · Oct 22, 2014

briefvisit said:
As fast as i can type:

I think so. We have had this discussion over the years. Emus are much more 'flocky' than the ornithological term 'solitary' suggests.

When you watch them in the wild, you see that they are more often together; that they love to squabble; they love to graze quietly in groups.

If you have the space, try to at least get a bird a mate.

SE

That's true, I never see solitary emus in the wild. I was thinking more by textbook standards but really I ought to know better, lol, they're often a bit off, or a bit over-specified or over-generalized.

Best wishes.

Steampunked · Oct 22, 2014

I only know about emus in the wild (I've lived with them), but...

I'd guess you would worry about the females, not the males - they display for their males, court them, and aggressively pursue unwanted females away. Females can be aggressive in general in breeding season, to the point of attacking males if the male in question doesn't respond well. When a dominant female has secured herself a mate, she'll be quite protective of him, and can assault another female quite viciously to make sure the interloper knows she's not welcome. Fights can last longer than three hours. Once a male is brooding eggs, the female will go off to find another male, if she can. Emus don't do fidelity.

All of this fighting is pretty reasonable, since the male is so valuable - he sits on the eggs, after all, so he's got the lives of the chicks in his, er, tiny useless wings.

I'm not sure if two females in captivity would fight if there's no male around to fight over, though. I have a feeling not.

TehLizardKing · Oct 23, 2014

Whoah, thanks y'all, I genuinely wasn't expecting this much advice that I could actually implement... Good to find another batch of peeps who know and care about their birds. Ok, so it looks like I'm gonna be getting a pair; honestly I'd hate myself for keeping a social bird on its own, in fact I think the only animal that doesn't have a partner here is the beardie

chooks4life said:
That's true, I never see solitary emus in the wild. I was thinking more by textbook standards but really I ought to know better, lol, they're often a bit off, or a bit over-specified or over-generalized.

.

Mmhm, it's interesting how much science 'knows' these days isnt it? For instance, Humans are supposedly the only animals capable of learning another language, but my lovebird was raised up from a chick with the cockatiels, as a cockatiel, and when we got her a mate she couldn't communicate with him because she'd been taught cockatiel-ish! (She's now bonded with a male 'tiel, and they've raised foster eggs together

) I'd always found it hard to imagine there was a precocial bird out there that lived a completely solitary life; it seemed to go against a few too many of nature's stereotypes.

Wow, I envy the Aussies out of you lot; I've only visited the place a couple of times, but I tell you if I ever got the chance to live there I would. Emus and 'toos in your back garden? Lucky sods

Well then, looks like it's time to finish off my emu paddock! *frolicks away*

Thanks guys and gals ~

ES Emus · Oct 23, 2014

I agree with everything that the previous posters posted!!!

chooks4life · Oct 24, 2014

Ah, about the 'toos in our backyards... They're a plague if you're trying to grow anything, haha! I covered my melons and corn and other veggies etc that I grew and the sulfur cresteds burrowed under the covers to take taste tests that ruined everything before it ripened. It's the despair of many a farmer to see those white wheeling shrieking clouds descend on your crops... Sometimes they do so in the millions, sufficient to put farmers out of business. I like them just fine, but they can be a pest.

Emus, less so, they're pretty likable birds.

Best wishes.

briefvisit · Oct 25, 2014

'sulphur-crested'? Lots of politics here, but around Lake Muir, here in South West W.A., it's the Muirs Corella and Black Cockatoos. They do do a great deal of damage.

Uno came through the backyard for the first time this morning, cheeping in fear and confusion behind his dad.

SE

chooks4life · Oct 25, 2014

briefvisit said:
'sulphur-crested'? Lots of politics here, but around Lake Muir, here in South West W.A., it's the Muirs Corella and Black Cockatoos. They do do a great deal of damage.

Uno came through the backyard for the first time this morning, cheeping in fear and confusion behind his dad.

SE

Not sure what you mean with that question/statement. Is it regarding spelling? I use the American spelling because it gets annoying seeing the Aussie/English spelling continually underlined as being faulty, lol... I prefer 'sulphur' myself, as well as a whole host of words I was taught as a kid, but use American spelling to simplify spellchecking.

There's a petshop near me that sells all manner of cockatoo, parrot, 'tiel, etc hybrids... Just the other day I was looking at a Major Mitchell X Sulfur Crested. As big as the latter and as cheeky as the former. They cross everything there, wonder if they use AI, some of those animals have some serious size differences between their parent species.

Best wishes.

Can Emus Get Lonely?

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