Emu pictures and stories.... post them here

[elsfieldchickens]

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Morning, all! These photos are of a very ordinary quality, but they are a peek into Other Stuff:

First is Felicity. Because my birds just come and go, even I have trouble identifying them sometimes – for example, if they come back drenched from swimming in the dam. This is Felicity Emu, the so-far spinster. She is my favourite: tamest of my birds. Her clearest identifying mark is the blue on her beak (I have no idea).




Next: two recent ones of Eric Plus. The chicks are growing amazingly fast. If you look carefully, you can see a little of the scar on Eric’s neck. The two best ‘identifiers’ of birds like mine are such marks and their behaviours – how close they’ll come, etc.





Next: here’s a photo of Greedy. In case you haven’t heard me say it a million time elsewhere, Greedy is an alpha alpha bird (or was – long story) I tamed her as a chick; and I love to interact with her – but her eyes tell the story. She’s a bad-*** bird, her father’s daughter. By far the most serious fights I’ve seen between emus have been those between Greedy and Eric.


Here is Greedy again, taken during The Big Kerfuffle, with Supreme Emu running about trying to photograph the birds as they fought – nuh! Too much movement. (If you look super-carefully, you see that the inner digit on the left foot sits in a little close. G. had an accident as a chick, and that's the mark.)

Okay, these two are of Felicity, taken as research. In the posts of the Thread, we discussed the fact that females stake out territory by exchanging calls over distance. One photo is Felicity booming, a long slow deep ‘optimal’ boom. The second is of her with her ruff partially raised. The females don’t ever seem to boom without raising their ruffs at least somewhat.





Next: the research for this ‘staking out of territories thing’ took me months. I wish you’d been here the day I first heard a distant female reply. So, this is a photo of Greedy, taken on a different day. Now look closely, guys: check out the post and bush in the background. Two different females on two different days faced the same direction on the same spot to exchange calls with a distant female.



Here is the final photo. I yearn to communicate to all the readers how amazing this Whole Emu Thing is. So, here’s a picture of two emus – big deal. But one bird is facing me: she’s tame. It’s Greedy. Do I have Yummies? The other bird, cautious, is her consort. The photo was taken four years to the month after I arrived. Greedy grew up under the fig tree in the background. It’s her turf, even if I do feed her. Her dad is here as I type, with two chicks. I have observed literally hundreds of birds on this patch of ground. You can’t tell from the photos, but plenty of the shots posted elsewhere on BYC, particularly of wild birds, are taken on this spot. The fig tree is the best Yummies of all, and it is ten feet from gums that stand between the house-clearing and the area in which the wild birds live. (There are divisions between the territories, but ‘my place’ is about 1,600 acres.)
I have seen a flock of eighteen birds pass at walking-pace through the blue gums visible in the left corner of the photo. It was one of the best dozen observations ever. The reason that they never noticed me because I was already hiding under a tree nearby, watching a couple of wild birds ‘stealing’ figs, when I first heard them coming.






Supreme Emu

Thank you for sharing this. Intriguing! I have studied emu for quite a while now, found this thread by far the most helpful yet. I was told they were dangerous, and challenging. Obviously should be respected as any large animal but not as aggressive as cassowary or ostrich. We had talked ourselves out of them but now have renewed interest in Emu. Obviously you should hatch your own flock.and socialize them with people from the beginning. It must be exciting to observe them in their wild state. Amazing beautiful birds!

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Raptor, the photos of Gerry are wonderful. The top one is worthy of being printed and framed.

S.E.

 

[kathyinmo]

Love all the photos! I lost track of this thread! I'm back now!

I have 7 babies that were hatched broken out of their eggs about 5 days ago. Three were spraddle (splay) legged and two with wry neck. One is very small, and came from a very small egg. They were quite weak when I picked them up, and the long drive home surely was tiring to them. I syringe fed them some water and Poultry Nutra-Drench, applied hobbles, and got them warmed up. I know it is imperative that emu chicks have exercise soon after hatch. These chicks were on a slick surface and had no opportunity for exercise at all. Two were sprawled out totally flat! I brought them home at 3 days old.














They are looking better already!

 

[elsfieldchickens]

so cute

 

[1muttsfan]

Nice to see you back - lucky babies

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Kathyinmo!! Very nice to see you back.

Yes, cute cute cute as buttons; but reports later, please please, when you have time. Three splay legs!! Goodness. And a tiny egg with a tiny chick. This would help me understand some things: I see puzzling differences in the sizes of chicks in clutches.

Supreme Emu

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Wild Emu Chicks, South-West Western Australia





‘Wild’?? Well, no fences; never been handled; won't eat from your hand -- but will come close for wheat.

(Sounds like an ad in the Personals Section.)

I broke a rule to get the last photo, but what the heck. For those who aren't citizens of Planet Rothschildi, the male is Eric, an old double-alpha rothschildi. I've known him five years. The chicks are the 2012 clutch, Alpha and Omega.

They are 'fully operational' juveniles, readers:

cold, rain, 105-degree heat; snakes, foxes, giant eagles; bullants, ticks; cross barbed-wire fences; support dad in attacking interlopers; involved in attacks by birds more powerful than their dad; roam miles and miles, swim in dams, rest in the shade; roost at night (snuggled up against their dad) on the ground in the Australian bush -- tee hee . . . you might not want to let them go head to head with your tame chicks!

There’s a photo of these chicks from 31 October on my mobile phone, eleven weeks ago. It shows them as Stripies. I suppose they are now about six months:

 

[kbgh]

KathyinMo,

Good luck with the chicks. Please keep us posted on their progress. I had a ball watching the video.

S.E. as usal great photos. Is that Eric eating out of your hand?

K.B.

 

[BlackPanther]

I recently saw some pictures of emu eggs and chicks, and found them intriguing. I started wondering (and I hope all you emu enthusiasts will jump up shouting) -- other than the fact that they are unique, why do/would you keep emus over another type of fowl?