Ostrich, Rhea and Emu Questions

[CluckyJay]

Just a few questions to pass the time, lol.


Other than being super awesome-looking, what part in the homestead would an emu or ostrich fulfill?

What do you feed yours and how much does one eat?

Do they produce a lot of droppings? I like to compost, lol.

What does their meat taste like?

How many would easily fit in one acre of orchard/weeds/hay?

How long until you can process them, if you planned to eat them.

What is a good price for either a young pair or hatching eggs?

Can they pull light loads of weeds or something?

I'll probably think of more questions later, lol.



Thanks!

 

[Supreme Emu]

Emus efficiently convert various foods (they love wheat) into neat little vegetarian manure pats that dry, and can be composted. I do it (and with kangaroo samo samo). Seriously though, they like all kinds of fruits and nuts. Meat? I haven't ever tried it.

In request of space? More. As much as possible. In respect of breeding them for meat? No one ever seems to quite actually make any money doing it. I'm not sure if they can pull wagons. I have seen a photo of one with a saddle on.

Supreme Emu

 

[CluckyJay]

Thanks!

I'm not worried about selling the meat. I'm gathering up all the information I can on various animals for my little future farm. I want to either be able to sell the offspring of my livestock or eat them in some way, lol. It would just be neat to see something like that out in the pasture, lol.

 

[CluckyJay]

How much does one emu eat a day, roughly?