2019 Emu Hatch-A-Long

[Pyxis]

I had to do some heaving to find this little guy! Luckily Denali is only showing aggression towards the other emus when they get too close. He lets me handle him fine.

This one looks like regular coloring. I have some concerns about ants, but until I get something set up I'll let him fully hatch the chick. I plan to take all the chicks from him to raise them tame (poor Denali).

Is he tame enough himself that you think you could let him keep a couple and still have them come out fairly tame, or do you think that wouldn't work?

 

[Kalifornsky]

I have a feeling the chicks will be far more likely to be tame if we hand-raise them, starting from as young as possible. This is my first time for a natural hatch so I can't say definitively, but the chicks will imprint on him rather than us, and I imagine that will have some impact on how likely they are to trust humans.

Denali is tame-ish, but he's not as friendly as some of the other emus. It took him awhile to warm up to us. His behavior might change to be more aggressive/defensive once the chicks are out.

I would personally feel better if they're sheltered in my home for the first few days/weeks of life! The shed where I would've put Denali and the chicks is currently occupied by an injured emu whose swollen foot won't subside. It's concerning, but there doesn't seem to be much to do about inflammation.

 

[Kalifornsky]

Wow, he already kicked himself out! For scale, look at the teeny feet and the big toe of his dad!

 

[Pyxis]

Wow, he already kicked himself out! For scale, look at the teeny feet and the big toe of his dad!

 

[Pyxis]

My four eggs just hit day 35. No wiggling yet. One of the small eggs has lost way too much weight and I'm sure is no good, but I can't bring myself to pull it. The other has lost less weight, but I still don't hold out too much hope. The two big eggs are the ones I'm really pulling for. We'll see.

 

[Burd]

My four eggs just hit day 35. No wiggling yet. One of the small eggs has lost way too much weight and I'm sure is no good, but I can't bring myself to pull it. The other has lost less weight, but I still don't hold out too much hope. The two big eggs are the ones I'm really pulling for. We'll see.

I also have one which has a very strange lighter green colouring which is losing way more weight despite being in the more humid and cooler area. I wonder if there's a correlation of the late season eggs behaving differently to start or mid season ones?

 

[Pyxis]

I also have one which has a very strange lighter green colouring which is losing way more weight despite being in the more humid and cooler area. I wonder if there's a correlation of the late season eggs behaving differently to start or mid season ones?

The lighter one might have been missed with a layer or two of outer shell. If you start to carve into an emu shell, you can see that the inner layers are a lighter green. It's possible that your egg is missing a layer or two, which would probably also cause it to lose weight more rapidly.

 

[Burd]

The lighter one might have been missed with a layer or two of outer shell. If you start to carve into an emu shell, you can see that the inner layers are a lighter green. It's possible that your egg is missing a layer or two, which would probably also cause it to lose weight more rapidly.

That's actually a very very good shout, I reckon that's exactly it! Is there anything I can do with over 2 weeks gone in incubation or is it too late?

 

[Pyxis]

That's actually a very very good shout, I reckon that's exactly it! Is there anything I can do with over 2 weeks gone in incubation or is it too late?

You can try taping it to reduce the moisture loss, if you haven't taped it yet

 

[aart]

Wow, he already kicked himself out! For scale, look at the teeny feet and the big toe of his dad!

Gorgeous pic!