Any Ostrich breeders?

[Tame Emu Guy]

http://japr.fass.org/content/10/3/262.full.pdf
http://www.ostrich.org.uk/industry/welfare.pdf
http://www.publish.csiro.au/Books/download.cfm?ID=3526
http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/3526.htm [25 $]
http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/27_2722.htm
http://www.aszk.org.au/docs/giraffe.pdf -- just thought I’d throw this one in!!
http://www.ostriches.org/reference.html [‘ABOUT OSTRICH’ THEN ‘OSTRICH HUSBANDRY’ THEN ‘REFERENCE MATERIAL’

 

[yinepu]

And if you don’t want a male ostrich . . . will anyone want a male ostrich?

Lol... someone who likes ostrich burgers would.. assuming they have the time and space to raise him for butchering (which is another good reason for not getting attached to the males)

There also may be a breeder who is looking for a male.. but more likely it would be someone who likes the meat (I like Ostrich burgers... but do not have the time or energy to deal with an angry male ostrich)!

 

[Scottingitup]

Do you think the deer&rabbit fence would work? or would a tall field/hog fence work or do I need to use a special horse fencing?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Scottingitup

Cutting down trees for fence posts is not recommended. You need treated wood or it will rot out in a few years maybe less depending on the conditions. With something as big as an ostrich you do not want a weak fence! I recently finished fencing in my property with 2x4 horse fence (5') - it took quite a bit of research. Let me know if you want any tips.





I could use all the tips you can give me

Alright you asked for it.

The first thing I would do is visit kencove.com and read their articles and watch the videos.

Plan your corners and braces first.
do not forget to budget for the tools! GET THE TOOLS!
Forget buying anything that is not special order at tractor supply, etc. Most of what they sell tool wise is for 4' fencing (not tall enough) - and stay the hell away from red brand or any economy fencing. If it is not class 3 or class C galvanized run away. You want to fence one time and leave it alone for years. Less than class 3 will start to show rust in a few years. I purchased stay-tough fencing it comes with a 10 year warranty which is very nice.

You will want the at least the following:

• Woven wire stretcher bar that can handle the height of fence you are installing.
• Come alongs or chain grabs (get two of them)
• Crimping tools
• good gloves
• chain or wire to use with the grabs/come alongs (what to attach to the posts with)

If you can afford it have a fencing company come in and drive the fence posts in for you - much faster and stronger. If not do what I did and rent a tractor with a post hole auger.
2x4 fixed not horse fence really is the most versatile fencing - it will contain just about everything. Forget about electric fence with any form of bird - feathers are a very good insulator and the bird will not feel the shock.

I don't know if you plan on doing any form of automatic gate opener - if you do don't purchase mighty mule stuff every review I read on the 'net said they will break right after the warranty expires. I special ordered us automatics gear through lowes- this also comes with a 10 year warranty.

If you are going to purchase a bunch of fence posts at once make sure to stand them up or stack them in the shade in a way you can rotate them. Drying them in shade will help prevent most of the warping while the wood drys. 4x4's are for line posts only, brace posts must be big. 6x6 or bigger and concreted. I did a 5' high fence using 6x6x8 posts. When running the diagonal brace wire remember two rules:

• Only run the wire for directions under tension
• if you have tension each way then run the wire separate from each other
  - you want the forces independent of each other. It will be stronger and easier to install this way.

I will try and post pictures of my setup soon.

 

[poultry09]

Alright you asked for it.

The first thing I would do is visit kencove.com and read their articles and watch the videos.

Plan your corners and braces first.
do not forget to budget for the tools! GET THE TOOLS!
Forget buying anything that is not special order at tractor supply, etc. Most of what they sell tool wise is for 4' fencing (not tall enough) - and stay the hell away from red brand or any economy fencing. If it is not class 3 or class C galvanized run away. You want to fence one time and leave it alone for years. Less than class 3 will start to show rust in a few years. I purchased stay-tough fencing it comes with a 10 year warranty which is very nice.

You will want the at least the following:

• Woven wire stretcher bar that can handle the height of fence you are installing.
• Come alongs or chain grabs (get two of them)
• Crimping tools
• good gloves
• chain or wire to use with the grabs/come alongs (what to attach to the posts with)

If you can afford it have a fencing company come in and drive the fence posts in for you - much faster and stronger. If not do what I did and rent a tractor with a post hole auger.
2x4 fixed not horse fence really is the most versatile fencing - it will contain just about everything. Forget about electric fence with any form of bird - feathers are a very good insulator and the bird will not feel the shock.

I don't know if you plan on doing any form of automatic gate opener - if you do don't purchase mighty mule stuff every review I read on the 'net said they will break right after the warranty expires. I special ordered us automatics gear through lowes- this also comes with a 10 year warranty.

If you are going to purchase a bunch of fence posts at once make sure to stand them up or stack them in the shade in a way you can rotate them. Drying them in shade will help prevent most of the warping while the wood drys. 4x4's are for line posts only, brace posts must be big. 6x6 or bigger and concreted. I did a 5' high fence using 6x6x8 posts. When running the diagonal brace wire remember two rules:

• Only run the wire for directions under tension
• if you have tension each way then run the wire separate from each other
  - you want the forces independent of each other. It will be stronger and easier to install this way.

I will try and post pictures of my setup soon.

WOW thanks!!!! Please do post pictures of your fence!

 

[Scottingitup]

The other thing I did with my fence is I followed the ground. This keeps the fence tight to the ground and smaller predators out. If you want it to look better (not much is going to eat an adult ostrich) run a string and keep it level between brace posts. My posts are painted for looks - I am zoned agricultural but do have a few neighbors and want it to look nice.



Notice how the brace assembly on the left has wires going each way - tension from fence and tension from gate. Assembly on the right only has one brace wire for the fence tension.



Inline double brace for a long run, its ~330 ft to the corner brace. and ~330 ft to the next inline brace. Again notice the double wire bracing for the fence tension.



This turn may not look like much but anything over 15 degrees requires a new brace. I hope you don't have any of these - cutting the horizontals for these was fun. All the horizontals are turned with a point up - this lets the rain run off.

 

[poultry09]

The other thing I did with my fence is I followed the ground.  This keeps the fence tight to the ground and smaller predators out. If you want it to look better (not much is going to eat an adult ostrich)  run a string and keep it level between brace posts. My posts are painted for looks - I am zoned agricultural but do have a few neighbors and want it to look nice.



Notice how the brace assembly on the left has wires going each way - tension from fence and tension from gate. Assembly on the right only has one brace wire for the fence tension.



Inline double brace for a long run, its ~330 ft to the corner brace. and ~330 ft to the next inline brace.  Again notice the double wire bracing for the fence tension.

p

This turn may not look like much but anything over 15 degrees requires a new brace. I hope you don't have any of these - cutting the horizontals for these was fun. All the horizontals are turned with a point up - this lets the rain run off.

WOW you put a lot of work into your fence! and it shows it looks great! but to be honest I don't want to put a ton of work and money into the fence when I will be graduating in two years and will proably move. but I want to get my foot in the door because prices are only going to go up. but as a last resort I could proably keep them at my friends house as she is putting up a 8-10 foot fence all the way around her property. I hope this doesn't make me sound like a complete moron by what I just said but I hope you can somewhat understand what I mean. If you let me I will move in next to you and keep them in your fence lol

Thanks

 

[Scottingitup]

Haha, if you know you are moving I would honestly wait. Fencing can - but definetly should not be done cheaply. It is A LOT of work and you want it to last. It took me 4 months of work to do 1600 feet of fence. 6 months if you count the 2 months I spent clearing the fence line by hand. Yes it is expensive. 2x4x5' x 200 foot rolls are $300 - i went through $4100 dollars in wire alone - then comes the tools and wire crimps and the wood. My fence should last 20 years and maybe even 30+. My kids better be the ones repairing it for me then!

 

[casuarius]

Ive had Ostriches before, and want to get them again...but then I just have a fascination with dangerous animals lol. The males get very dangerous, not as dangerous as a Cassowary, but given their much larger size and weight, they can really do some damage. My male would charge the fence and hit the posts with his chest and snap them out of the ground if the were concreted. The others would move in the dirt and I was constantly fixing the fence. If you think they will stay tame just because you hand raise them, they won't. The tamer they are the worse they are, because they have no fear at all of people, and just consider you a challenge for their females. My posts were 4x4's, thicker ones may do better, and some Ostrich males dont get that bad, and need to be provoked. They also cant jump like a Emu, and a 5-6ft fence is just fine for them. Most of their height is the neck. There are three subspecies in the US, and they are referred to as Blacks, Blues, and Reds. Blacks are the smallest, Blues are middle, and Reds are huge...which is what I had, and are my favorite just because the size is really impressive for your friends to come over and see lol. But they are also the most expensive and dangerous. Also hard to find anymore. There is a guy not far from me that sales blacks, but they are still $1200 each for yearlings. Thats the other thing...prices on Ostriches have went up alot. Eggs are very difficult to hatch if you dont have a very good incubator. The humidity needs to be between 10-20%. Not trying to discourage you at all... I just want you know be well informed before you make the investment. I love Ostriches, and I think they are well worth the money.

 

[poultry09]

Ive had Ostriches before, and want to get them again...but then I just have a fascination with dangerous animals lol. The males get very dangerous, not as dangerous as a Cassowary, but given their much larger size and weight, they can really do some damage. My male would charge the fence and hit the posts with his chest and snap them out of the ground if the were concreted. The others would move in the dirt and I was constantly fixing the fence. If you think they will stay tame just because you hand raise them, they won't. The tamer they are the worse they are, because they have no fear at all of people, and just consider you a challenge for their females. My posts were 4x4's, thicker ones may do better, and some Ostrich males dont get that bad, and need to be provoked. They also cant jump like a Emu, and a 5-6ft fence is just fine for them. Most of their height is the neck. There are three subspecies in the US, and they are referred to as Blacks, Blues, and Reds. Blacks are the smallest, Blues are middle, and Reds are huge...which is what I had, and are my favorite just because the size is really impressive for your friends to come over and see lol. But they are also the most expensive and dangerous. Also hard to find anymore. There is a guy not far from me that sales blacks, but they are still $1200 each for yearlings. Thats the other thing...prices on Ostriches have went up alot. Eggs are very difficult to hatch if you dont have a very good incubator. The humidity needs to be between 10-20%. Not trying to discourage you at all... I just want you know be well informed before you make the investment. I love Ostriches, and I think they are well worth the money.

Thanks! Finnaly we have found someone with experience in ostriches!!! so a question for you is do you think the fence like the one I have pictured on my first post would be strong enough to hold in ostrich females if I use really thick fence post? Also I posted a link to a hatchery that sells ostrich chicks, I was wounding if it would be possible for you to look at the website and tell me what you think if I should buy from them or not? and what breed if ostrich they have blacks, blues or reds? Also I was wondering if it is possible to sex ostrich chicks?

Scottingutup, like Casuarius said the price for ostriches has gone up, and they will proably continue to go up. So if I can get them now At a lower price then in two years I think I should get them now


Also thanks Tame Emu Guy for all the great links!!! and in sure I can find someone to take the males, and if I had to I could send them to auction.

Thanks everyone for all the help, pictures, links and info!

 

[chickenzoo]

Nice fence Scottingitup..... I just got finished doing eleven acres like that.....fiveish more to go...ugh.....although I went a little cheaper route using goat fence than horse but I have five great pyrenees...so not much gets in any how.. Lol. Love those tension cranks....made it so much easier.