Are Emus Right For Me?

[Insane poultry mama]

Hello everybody! I live on a three acre homestead with chickens, goats, geese and guinea fowl. I would love to add at least one emu to the family sometime in the future and have a few questions. First of all I know that people say you cant have one Emu but is that really true? Can it have other animal buddys or alot of human attention instead? Second of all how much space do they need to run and will a four foot fence keep them in? I've heard at least five to six feet but I dont know. Third of all what would you feed them if ratite spesific feed wasnt available to you? I know it's kind of alot of questions but thanks!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It can have other buddies but much better to have the same species. It takes about an acre minimum to keep a pair happy. They are very strong and it needs to be at least a 6 foot fence and a very strong well supported one.
They are omnivores like Galliformes and may take to chicken feed but will find some of their food on forage. Grasses, forbes, seeds, fruits, insects, grubs, etc..
I recommend visiting a farm where they raise them before attempting to plunge into it without experience.
IMHO, they aren't the friendliest animals as human pets.
file:///C:/Users/guyni/Downloads/PM1696.pdf

 

[lost-duckling]

you should not keep them in the same area as goats, goats are evil and will eat their feathers til they are practically naked.

You should make sure any chicks and goslings cannot access the emus or vice versa because emus will toss them in the air for fun and kill them. On a side note emus can and will catch song birds out of the air like ninjas.

If you get a very young male emu and hand raise it it will be like a dog but like a dog you should either take time to treat it like a companion style pet or get two.

 

[Finnie]

Hello everybody! I live on a three acre homestead with chickens, goats, geese and guinea fowl. I would love to add at least one emu to the family sometime in the future and have a few questions. First of all I know that people say you cant have one Emu but is that really true? Can it have other animal buddys or alot of human attention instead? Second of all how much space do they need to run and will a four foot fence keep them in? I've heard at least five to six feet but I dont know. Third of all what would you feed them if ratite spesific feed wasnt available to you? I know it's kind of alot of questions but thanks!

You can learn a lot by reading older threads on this Rattite section. That’s what I did several years ago and I learned enough to become a fan of emus, but realized I will probably never want to own any. Have fun researching!

 

[Finnie]

It took me some digging, but here is the thread I had in mind that I had read start to finish. You may enjoy it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/emu-pictures-and-stories-post-them-here.640112/

 

[AGeese]

Not sure about 1 emu, I've heard that the females can be more agressive. Someone with Emu's could correct me on that @TyTheColt

 

[Finnie]

Here is another informative thread. The author of this one has lots of posts about Emus.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-much-do-yours-eat.619568/

 

[Insane poultry mama]

thanks alot every one!

 

[lost-duckling]

Not sure about 1 emu, I've heard that the females can be more agressive. Someone with Emu's could correct me on that @TyTheColt

I find them more timid and less friendly but not really aggressive... That is not really an issue with emus unless its a dad with a chick in which case prepare to be terrifyingly attacked for no reason as long as he can see you. This is the reason why emus should not be in welded wire fence if you plan to breed them, a 110lb bird ramming a fence 8 hours a day at speed for months can do some damage.

A curious bite is actually more likely to come from a friendly male since the female is less lily to approach.