0wen
Songster
Hello,
Very seriously considering purchasing around 40 acres soon and deciding what to do with the land. Really just weighing in on emu farming - considering cattle as well as other alternatives, but right now (and it's early in the process mind you) I guess I'm at a Emu vs (cattle, goats, etc). Largely, these will be production animals for eventual slaughter and while I'm not opposed to selling off the occasional chick or egg, the plan is for the majority of them to make it to the freezer (+oils, leathers, etc).
I suppose my initial questions are:
Birds per acre (or acres per bird - whichever system works out). I would imagine at the peak, I would only allow 20 acres for the birds unless there were to be a (doubtful) miraculous profit from the operation that would demand more.
I've casually looked into fencing, housing, care, etc and will further research obviously if this is the path I choose. Most of my reading has been here and "Red Oak Farm's" webpage. My understanding is that emu ideally yield 25-30 lbs of boneless red meat + fat/oils +hides +eggs. Has anyone here operated or been part of a similar facility? If so (or if not and have a good guess-timate) what %'s of potential profit would you weigh on the edible portion of the bird v/s the extras (oils, hides) or potentially allowing a good portion of the birds to live and produce eggs or offspring for sale?
Other input welcome..
Very seriously considering purchasing around 40 acres soon and deciding what to do with the land. Really just weighing in on emu farming - considering cattle as well as other alternatives, but right now (and it's early in the process mind you) I guess I'm at a Emu vs (cattle, goats, etc). Largely, these will be production animals for eventual slaughter and while I'm not opposed to selling off the occasional chick or egg, the plan is for the majority of them to make it to the freezer (+oils, leathers, etc).
I suppose my initial questions are:
Birds per acre (or acres per bird - whichever system works out). I would imagine at the peak, I would only allow 20 acres for the birds unless there were to be a (doubtful) miraculous profit from the operation that would demand more.
I've casually looked into fencing, housing, care, etc and will further research obviously if this is the path I choose. Most of my reading has been here and "Red Oak Farm's" webpage. My understanding is that emu ideally yield 25-30 lbs of boneless red meat + fat/oils +hides +eggs. Has anyone here operated or been part of a similar facility? If so (or if not and have a good guess-timate) what %'s of potential profit would you weigh on the edible portion of the bird v/s the extras (oils, hides) or potentially allowing a good portion of the birds to live and produce eggs or offspring for sale?
Other input welcome..
