ANYONE ELSE HAVE PET EMU'S???

[chickenzoo]

ANY ONE ELSE HAVE EMU AS PETS. WHAT DO KEEP THEM WITH? HOW DID YOU DECIDE ON ONE?

JAZZY & MERLIN

 

[Emzyyy]

OMG I WOULD SO GET ONE IF I COULD!#!@$
our neighbor well sorta neighbor has oneee. They let us have the eggs if we find them.

 

[reallemons1]

We had some, they wern't exactaly pets though. There were 4 pair. We incubated eggs and a lot hatched. Then we had almost 50. A few were friendly. They are amazing birds. Giving them their EEE and ivermecton shots was a challange. They also need sturdy 6' fence. One time they all started running along the fence and 1 bird ran right up and over it. luckly the horse pasture joins the Emu pen and we were able to here it back in. Another time a tree took out some fence and we had to chase 2 Emu around the neigborhood-- not fun. Their eggs are beautiful. I still have some blown ones and someday plan to do crafts with them.
We kept them by themselves, as they can be dangerous. They use their legs and clawed feet as weapons and they are very strong. They often will chase, stomp and kill anything smaller than they are. We lost several chickens who strayed into the Emu pen and had to be careful of our dogs getting in it.

 

[DTchickens]

my aunt has some, I hate them honestly haha,they dont do much really but their really curious, and they like shiney things... she lets them from around the pond so they always come over and bite your reel.. bait.. and if you wear one, your watch gets annoying, and everywhere you walk they follow

 

[chickenzoo]

I raised mine from chicks and they went out with me to feed up everyday to get use to all the other animals. The peacocks bullied them when they were little and still do now! It is so funny to see a emu run past and then 5 sec's behind him comes a peacock jogging, then in a few min. here they come again the other direction, sooo funny! they don't really bother the chickens they know, except for the occasional chase and run, but new birds I have to watch around them until they know they belong here. They lay with the potbellies and groom them,(sometimes too much, yesterday I caught Jazzy pulling on their teets!)They run behind the horses, but at a safe distance and my one turkey hen herds them all over the yard. They have never tried to kick us, they are handled daily. Jazzy, the female is the friendliest, she comes up and lays her head on my chest to be petted and is easy to give her shots too, she craves attention. Merlin doesn't really like to be handled(he was a little older when we got him) and we have to lay him down to give shots, but both are easy to worm, I practicly have to keep them from eating it! He does like to follow you around and see what you are doing. They use to play chase with my nephews, it was so funny watching these giant birds run from a 4 year old! Then they run after him and at the last min. fall down on the ground and spring up and take off again. And i swear they have duck in them, if you turn on a hose, you'r in trouble! They fall on the ground begging to be sprayed, rolling and kicking with feet in the air, splashing and playing. they even try to fit in the kiddie pool. They are real sweet hearts. It is hard however to try to do any repairs when they are around, everything gets picked up and flung out of interest. And on occasion I have to watch my ears....

 

[LinckHillPoultry]

I want one. Heard they can be mean though.

When we headed to Maryland we stopped by Woody's Bird Farm on the way and someone brought in a baby emu, about 1/5 of what it would eventually be. It was on a leash and was walking around in the store.
Very cute though, and very friendly!

 

[chickenzoo]

Yep, I taught mine to walk on a lead when it was little....kind of hard now

 

[kees]

Quote:
I just checked online and it said that they were out of business because they couldn't make ends meet!

sniff sniff

 

[ChanceRider]

I have a breeding pair that I've owned for about 4 years now. I really enjoy my birds... their antics can be quite entertaining! During the first few rains of the winter they "dance" all around their pen... running, jumping and twisting. During the summer I spray them with a gentle spray as they just love water. And they're quite tame. The male, Enoch, especially loves to get his "hugs", and to have the underside of his beak scratched.

My birds are in a pen that we built the same way we build our horse fencing... 6 foot high no-climb, peeler core posts, metal t-posts, and two ranch gates.

Enoch trusts me enough to handle his eggs when he's sitting on his nest. The female is just a tad bit less friendly, but still very approachable. I've let Enoch hatch out chicks a few times; but I only want to keep the breeding pair. I've had no trouble getting rid of the chicks. If I'd take the time to blow out the eggs I could sell them when I don't let him hatch the eggs. My emus are probably the easiest of my animals to care for.

LOL, one side benefit of the emus is that they've killed a couple of skunks that have made the mistake of getting into the pen! Good birds!

 

[kenny671]

i have 3 of them 1 pair for about 9 yrs now the thrid one i hatch one 4 yrs ago and it is a big past they run with my dogs-cats-chickens-turkeys-goats and peacocks they dont bother then but when i bring something new home i keep them apart