...and so THAT was the way the Ostrich said, "Welcome... City Boy!"

[29PalmsRanch]

About 2 years ago, my wife and I decided to make the jump from our house in the city to a farm in rural Alabama. We acquired a small flock of ostriches (11) with the place. The first morning I was up at the crack of dawn, heading for the feed shed. I pulled out my piece of paper with the feeding instructions and went mixing their food. After I was done, I fed the chicks and then the mature males which were kept in different pastures. So far so good...

I walked out into this third pasture to inspect a small pole barn that didn't look quite right. So I was out there for about 10 minutes and had leaned against a 6x6 to make notes. The thing started vibrating... I look up and here is this big huge male ostrich running towards me but in a zig zag pattern. I froze... There wasn't supposed to be anything in that pasture and it was one male more than we bought!

When I stood straight up it ran straight for me. Working with big dogs (english mastiffs) I know the worst thing to do is run. It brings out the predator So I stood my ground. It stopped abruptly about 10 feet away from me and hit the deck. It started doing this weird thing with his wings and bobbing its head back and forth across its back. Sort of like a dance.

So I took that opportunity to VAULT the fence and dropped into the adjoining pasture. I caught my breath and looked up. Here come two more males that live in that pasture. I sprinted down the fence line and jumped over it again... and landed flat on my back knocking the wind out of my city boy self.

I just laid there... shook my head and watched the clouds float by and wondered... Just What the Heck Did You Just Get Yourself Into? ))

It turns out the male was just greeting me and hoping to mate. That's the way they 'dance' to entice a female to do the deal with them. All of my birds have now been named, come when they are called, and are awesome to hang out with in a pasture whether I'm cutting or gathering eggs or mending fences. I love to hear the males boom and the hens walk around 'gurgle clucking'. And there is nothing like a sunset with the birds ranged across the pasture.

Almost 2 years later we have 23 eggs in this huge natureform incubator. Fertility is confirmed. So the next chapter begins... chicks on the ground Last year was my first breeding season with pheasants, quail, and chickens. It was a huge learning experience and lots of fun.

I'm new here to BYC and looking forward to learning and sharing Thanks for listening to my weird story

 

[Alaskan]

Awesome story!

 

[saraki]

I love this story! I'd love to hear more about ostrich farms...and I have to ask what possessed you to say to yourself, "yep, ostriches, sounds great!" I can't really wrap my head around it, but then again not everyone would want chickens, so...what exactly does on do with them other than make more ostriches?

 

[29PalmsRanch]

I love this story! I'd love to hear more about ostrich farms...and I have to ask what possessed you to say to yourself, "yep, ostriches, sounds great!" I can't really wrap my head around it, but then again not everyone would want chickens, so...what exactly does on do with them other than make more ostriches?

Well... I spent a good deal of my childhood at a boarding school that happened to be a ranch as well. So from ages 8 - 14, I got exposed to cattle, baling hay, caring for pigs and chickens, and doing LOTS of fishing and shooting. I spent most summers at my grandparents place in the hills of PA right outside of W VA. So the country way of life got into my blood at a young age and stayed there.

My wife and I bought our dream home in New Orleans, an 1874 Victorian. But the city went to the dogs after Katrina. And after being exposed to urban violence and having to carry a gun (legal ccw) we finally got sick of it. She was a country girl when I met her and always will be. One day she just looked me in the eye and said "You know that farm you've been wanting to buy since I met you? Go buy our farm." And that was that

I found the place in CraigsList. And after talking to the man we bought it from, I dug into research about the ostrich industry. The fact of the matter is that the industry was abused for years. You had these guys running around selling breeding trios from as high as 60k to as low as 20k. And forgive me if anyone reads this who was involved in that garbage, but NO ONE BUILT A CONSUMER DEMAND FOR THE MEAT in the US. So the bottom fell out of it and big ostrich operations and equipment suppliers like Robbins (i think Natureform gobbled them up), Hatchrite, and others turned into vapor, distant memories.

And then to add insult to injury, in 2011 the avian flu struck South Africa's breeder flocks. They lost an estimated 500k birds. Now the demand for meat is at an all time high in Europe and no one is able to completely fill it. There is a hole in the market. I decided to jump into the hole

I also have the following:

Chickens: Lavender Orpingtons, Pumpkin Hulseys, Spangled Butchers, Hatch Grays, and Heritage Rhode Island Reds.
Quail: Northern Bobwhites, Georgia Giants, Snowflakes, California Valley, and Mearns
Pheasants: Lady Amherst, Red Golden, Yellow Golden, Silver, Elliot's, Hume's Bar Tailed, and Temmink's Tragopan

Pigs, Sheep, and a couple of milking cows are for next year

 

[TerriLaChicks]

Wow -- great story & hope you are an outstanding success! in spite of your rough start, lol!

edited to add: what are "hatch greys"? gamebird breed? sound interesting!

 

[29PalmsRanch]

They are a GORGEOUS chicken, a gamefowl breed. Meat is very very tender. Medium sized eggs. You just have to be careful around the roosters. They tend to be on the wild side. Our policy regarding aggressive birds is simple. They are eaten, not bred We are attempting to breed out a docile line of Spangled Butchers, Pumpkin Hulseys, and Hatch Grays. It is definitely a lesson in patience. But we do have a Spangled Butcher rooster that is a 3rd generation bird who can be picked up and carried around like a football without any issues He is our first success story. My main Pumpkin rooster has gone after me once, but I think it was the egg carrier I was holding which is red and he for whatever reason HATES red. He hasn't done it since, but I always walk into his pen holding a net now just in case

 

[sourland]

Great story - the mental picture of you vaulting the fence, amorous ostrich in pursuit provided my first chuckle of the day. I wish you the best in your venture.