Supreme Emu Got Technology

[Supreme Emu]

'Kay, here's an explanation, without which these two pictures make no sense. I THINK I'm the only BYC person whose emus are tame – that is, I'm in Oz, and these are wild emus that I fed until they became tame. They were born and grew up in the vicinity of the farmhouse that I live in. Wild emus are part of their world. They are part of the wild emus' world: there are no fences between my emus and the wild emus (and I know that they cross the fences of the property, which adjoins a zillion acres of national park).
So, I can put my hand on Greedy's chest. I can sort of pat Felicity if she is busy eating. Felicity will walk through the carport.

Number One is still a bit of a yokel.

The adult here is Eric (the Emu), who is the father of my three, and of at least one brood of young since then. Eric has brought that brood of young to the farmhouse a couple of times. The chicks are COMPLETELY wild, but they will follow dad in bewilderment: they would not normally come anywhere near a human dwelling, but they are following dad.

This photo of Eric was taken in the first six months here, when Eric was as tame as he's ever been, before he turned up with the chicks. I lay for a half an hour, with the lens of my mobile phone peeking around the corner of the kitchen door, in complete silence, to get this photo: this emu is 95% wild, only rarely came into the backyard, and only ever a couple of times – when the farmhouse was completely quiet and still – did he walk through the carport.

The chicks are two of my three, at about four months, I think.

If I can borrow and keep here a camera, I may be able to get a photo of Eric and the wild chicks. I also have a bit of footage of wild emus fighting right outside the fence. The action seems so far away on the mobile phone. I don't know how it would 'come up' on Youtube. It IS an amazing piece of footage, and I wish I had had the chance to film with better equipment the dust-ups between my emus and the wild emus (which come for the figs on the tree that you can see behind the chicks).

Supreme Emu

 

[pawprint2104]

I don't know a thing about Emus. If I understand it correctly, you handfed 3 wild Emus, until they acclimated to you and became tame. Do they belong to you or the wild? Do you eat their eggs?

 

[Supreme Emu]

Pawprint, to tame them, you need to spend hours and hours throwing chopped fruit to them (which has fallen from the trees in the unfenced orchard, which fruit the emus have come for in the first place, but even a greedy emu can't swallow a whole peach). When they get closer, you flick them bits of fruit with your thumb, which precludes scary arm movements – this first stage takes perhaps three months.

Then you start putting a dish of food out when they come, and sitting in COMPLETE silence, and without ANY movement, while they approach the food and eat it. (I give them wheat, which is an extremely good food for an animal that has to live on cropped grass all winter long.) Eventually, Eric the emu got to about six feet away. Then he turned up with the chicks.

Later, the chicks turned up alone. They would follow me to the fig tree, and I'd throw them figs. I don't recall them ever not eating an offered fig. Figs cost a buck fifty a pop in the trendy stores. My emus ate well over a thousand dollars worth of figs a week during the season. Each day, I'd throw the figs just a little closer. One day, I lay on the ground with my hand covered in figs, and my face covered. Several minutes later, a little emu beak pecked a fig from my palm.

Now, 850 days later, after two feeds a day, my party trick is to put a date between my lips, and Greedy the Emu will grab it.

I've never seen their eggs. I'm not sure if they've mated yet. (They are just old enough this season.) I probably won't see their eggs because they'll go off into the bush.

Do they belong to me or the wild? Well, that's just why I'm on BYC! I seem to be the only person on the whole forum whose emus are 'tame': they are wild emus acculturated to proximity to humans. I couldn't take them to the vet 'cause I'd need to be out of my mind to try to grab one, but I can touch them, which is a different class of privelege altogether from touching an emu that has been hand-raised.

Eric the Emu will come to within about six feet. His eyes are truly evil – as black as coal. In all seriousness, readers, I think if you tried to grab him, he'd kill you in a millisecond. I've seen wild emus fight my emus. They don't get to anything like maximum power. Nevertheless, from what I've seen, I'd rather have a run-in with an hydraulic ice-pick.

Supreme Emu

 

[pawprint2104]

Whoa! Very interesting. I just googled Emu and read your post. Amazing birds. They were once used for food and fuel by indigenous Australians and early European settlers. They have strong legs and feet with knife-like toes that can rip a wire fence. Your statement of "I'd rather have a run in with a Hydraulic ice pick" is dead-on, isn't it?! You're a very bold and brave person to get that close to those lofty giants

 

[Agape Builder]

Quote:
"They were once used for food..."? Isn't anyone on here using their ostriches or emus for their meat? I have never raised any of them, but I have eaten them. The meat I had was red meat steaks that tasted just like the best quality Angus beef, only better. But, their meat was pretty expensive back then. A lot of people used to raise them here in the Florida panhandle (and I am sure many still do) for their meat and to sell the eggs.

 

[Supreme Emu]

I think not, Agape Builder. The Internet is replete with people providing portions of emus for profitable purposes. BYC is an odd little corner where we . . . umm . . . just like emus.

Supreme Emu

 

[dak]

 

[chickenzoo]

Who could eat this Face ??????????????

Mine are livestock guardians - they will stomp any strange dog or try and bite the tail off any cat that comes in the yard. They lay with the chickens, and my one little roo can flogg them and they will walk away.They scare any strange people just by how they look. Plus they are just all over comic relief.

 

[Pinky]

Wow. I would love to have emus but I don't have the room for them right now

 

[chickenzoo]

Jazzy dressed up for Christmas........