Mundy Growth/General Emu Chat Thread

[briefvisit]

'golden raisins'? Okay.

And, as I undertand it, all the world is divided into two categories: Yummy for Emus, and Not Yummy for Emus. So, you offer a handful of something, and that's how you find out.

Next: I was bein' sort of cheeky about the lilly pilly, because they're a native. They aren't a bush. They're a tree. Mine towers over the house. I have a poly pipe whacker-knocker-downer, and I go out and wallop the bejeezus out of the tree with it. Hundreds of lilly pillies cascade to the ground. Then Tooshtoosh and The Gang of Five all rush in under it, and gobble them all up.

Change tack (but related):
over years, we have had
chats about, not so much What Fresh Stuff Does My Emoo Need? but ‘total emu environment.’

Shade trees. Shrubs and trees to allow some birds to avoid the line of sight of other (more powerful) birds. Seeding any wet patches in their area with grass seed, which gives you that vital ‘fresh pick’ later into summer than would otherwise be the case.

And . . . planting trees from which they can forage. I promise you it will be a fine day when you see Mundy plunging into a thicket of bushes to forage for stuff. I don’t mean namby pamby. I mean they’ll punch their way into bushes until only their toosh feathers are showing. This gives the birds that ‘stretch and snatch’ exercise that I suspect is healthful.

An adult emu will jump a yard straight up to score a plum or a fig.

The house-clearing here, home base of ‘Planet Rothschildi,’ has the remnants of an orchard – it’s how Eric the Emu came to be here in the first place. There’s grass, figs, apricots, plums, grapes, scotch thistles, and lilly pillies here.

So, what type of lilly pilly? Don’t know. Mine has big purple berries in big clusters.



Supreme Emu

 

[briefvisit]

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[briefvisit]

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[briefvisit]

So, to reiterate: 'my' birds aren't pets. They're wild rothschildi. It's just an accident that the National Park is adjacent my block, and the house-clearing is on my block, and I live in the house in the house-clearing.
The tall dark-green tree on right of frame is the lilly pilly. I bribed the real estate with good red wine to allow me to pull the back fence out of the yard, so the birds could come and go safely. That is, when the chicks rock through my backyard, they have no idea that it's not any other part of the Australia bush.
The 'inset photo' shows the plum trees, with a bush with a grape vine beyond the plums. There are dams to the east and west. And the bird bath is an attraction all year around.

So, okay, it is 'artificial.' But what you're looking at here is an optimal emu environment: space, water, the safety of masses of trees to roost in at night, the ability to hide out from other birds/ run away, and a range of foods including lots of yummy grass. In 2013 and 2014, we observed two wild male rothschildis incubate within 150 yards of my front verandah.

SE

 

[ryneaeiel]

And, as I undertand it, all the world is divided into two categories: Yummy for Emus, and Not Yummy for Emus. So, you offer a handful of something, and that's how you find out.

The only issue with Mundy is getting him to try things! It took me almost a week of prodding him to eat the spinach before he actually swallowed it and realized it was good! All the previous attempts consisted of him grabbing it and spitting it out!

Seeding any wet patches in their area with grass seed, which gives you that vital ‘fresh pick’ later into summer than would otherwise be the case.

Unfortunately we're in the middle of a drought, and the grass Mundy's been eating (namely foxtails, little buggers) gave him an upset stomach (which some good grit was able to fix! Yay!)

As a compromise, I've planted some old johnny jump-up seeds I had from a few years ago. They're essentially the wild ancestors of pansies, and look like this:

The best part is that they're edible! (And the leaves taste like spinach!) I had some growing in a container but he decided to eat them, so I planted more for him on the ground near his pool for him to freely forage. His favorite parts are the flowers!

And . . . planting trees from which they can forage. I promise you it will be a fine day when you see Mundy plunging into a thicket of bushes to forage for stuff. I don’t mean namby pamby. I mean they’ll punch their way into bushes until only their toosh feathers are showing. This gives the birds that ‘stretch and snatch’ exercise that I suspect is healthful.

He absolutely loves foraging the fresh grass along the stream bed when I take him for walks (the grass is on an old abandoned property adjacent to mine and isn't treated with any chemicals.)

Soon enough the wild blackberries on the same property will be ripe for picking. I've seen him eyeballing the flowers, but he hasn't worked up the courage to investigate the brambles yet!

 

[briefvisit]

'His favorite parts are the flowers!'

It seems that emus favour the parts of plants that have 'accumulated' nutrition. I have no background in this. But they scoff up flowers and berries and seeds, and of course the actual fruit, both immature and mature.

A local guy made a great point about 'my' emus getting their handful of wheat in the winter months, when there is only grass. I've seen groups of emus down on their hocks, in pouring rain, steadily ingesting grass grass grass. This guy pointed out how much nutrition there is in just a few grains of wheat.

This is an old photo. There has been a sort of truce between my birds and my capsicum and chili plants. But this day, Number One broke the rule.

 

[ryneaeiel]

think'His favorite parts are the flowers!'

It seems that emus favour the parts of plants that have 'accumulated' nutrition. I have no background in this. But they scoff up flowers and berries and seeds, and of course the actual fruit, both immature and mature.

A local guy made a great point about 'my' emus getting their handful of wheat in the winter months, when there is only grass. I've seen groups of emus down on their hocks, in pouring rain, steadily ingesting grass grass grass. This guy pointed out how much nutrition there is in just a few grains of wheat.

This is an old photo. There has been a sort of truce between my birds and my capsicum and chili plants. But this day, Number One broke the rule.

Sultanas/currants/raisins are apparently a no-go — maybe because they're sticky? He seemed to want to eat them, but kept ending up spitting them out. Back to the drawing board!

Maybe I could seal spinach in a tupperware container to keep it from drying out?

 

[briefvisit]

Well, I hope you got some hefty Mundy-Treats Budget!

I'll be astonished if Mundy won't scoff down plums or apricots. Wild emus here literally thrash the feathers off one another to gain access to the plum tree.

SE

 

[ryneaeiel]

Well, I hope you got some hefty Mundy-Treats Budget!

I'll be astonished if Mundy won't scoff down plums or apricots. Wild emus here literally thrash the feathers off one another to gain access to the plum tree.

SE

So far the "sealing spinach in tupperware" has worked, but Mundy's amusing me with his refusal to eat anything besides that and his feed. I swear he has to be the pickiest of all my animals -- it's like trying to get a toddler to try new things! He won't eat fruits or vegetables, the only greens he'll accept are weeds, violas, and spinach, but he'll run outside and scarf down dog poop if I don't pick it up quick enough!

 

[ryneaeiel]

So, here's a little query: should the flat part of the hock joint point directly forward, or is it normal to have it "turn out" about 10/15 degrees? He has no issue walking and stands on each foot to scratch himself with the other, so I'm just a bit curious here (and paranoid!) Both feet point forward when he walks as well, it's just like the flat of his hocks point a little bit outward.

I'm constantly watching his legs to see if he has any rotation or splay, but if he does, it hasn't impeded his walking, running, or dancing at all. I've just heard so many stories of ratites with messed up legs and how they usually need to be put down once the bird reaches a certain size, and I'm hellbent on making sure that doesn't happen to him. He's already scheduled for a general exam in two months (it was the soonest appointment I could get with COVID) but if there's anything wrong with his legs, I want to nip it in the bud before it gets any worse!

I've included pictures! The first picture is his hocks from behind, the rest are him facing the camera.