Can Emus, Rheas, and Ostriches thrive on just grasses and water?

[JacinLarkwell]

Also u said I have to chop their food up for them...is that absolutely necessary? cuz that feels like too much work.
Like can't they just pluck off the grass or whatever and eat it themselves normally like a cow does instead of me having to spoonfeed them?
Shouldnt they be fine cuz in the wild nobody gives them chopped food they just eat it themselves

They eat different things in the wild than what you are asking about feeding them.

Also you are aware that they're seasonal layers, not daily layers like chickens

 

[KT9278]

They eat different things in the wild than what you are asking about feeding them.

Also you are aware that they're seasonal layers, not daily layers like chickens

Yes I'm aware they are seasonal layers.

Google says mostly they eat plant material. And it mentions leaves and grasses (so cellulose heavy material). And I am thinking about having lots of different grass species (probably perrenials so they just grow back without me having to do much)

 

[shamorunner]

- The main thing I would want from them is eggs not so much meat, cuz for meat you have to kill the animal and there would be a large amount of meat which you wouldn't be able to consume in a short amount of time (cuz it would rot if not stored), but eggs would be a steady consistent source of food.
- I'm not saying I wouldn't eat the meat, I definitely would: (females that no longer lay eggs, males and females that look shit from the outside (probably indicative of underlying bad genetics - 3 legs for example, or bald spots...)

1) If for ex: I hatch 100 ostrich eggs and let them grow out on pasture (rotationally graze them), how exactly would I be able to determine which ones have the best genetics for extracting lots of calories and nutrients from cellulose type material (cuz you said size wouldn't necessarily mean a better digestive system? I'm guessing ADG - average daily gain also would be a useless measure?)

2) things I would want to selectively breed ostriches, rheas and/or emus for:
- high egg production
- strong immune systems (high resistance to internal and external parasites - don't want an animal that lays 300 eggs (good production) but has too weak of an immune system and needs medications every week)
- extremely good digestive system for digesting cellulose type material (this I think might be the most important and would be a major limiting factor. An ostrich with the potential to lay 300 eggs a year is useless to me if it is a picky eater, or needs grains and shit.)


How exactly would one go about creating such an animal: as in which male and female to breed?
- For the high egg production example: you cross the highest egg laying female with....which male? the fastest growing male whose mother was a shit egg layer? or the male who maybe didnt grow as fast but his mother was a good egg layer?

btw what birds do u keep and what exactly are u selectively breeding for?

On the side of meat, emus yield about 25lb per bird. Ostrich yields about 125lb per bird. I don't know exactly on Rhea but am expecting the 15-20lb range. Most people who raise animals for meat will use part of their freezer space for it while those selling meat will regularly carry extra freezer space for their business

On the egg side, as Jacin mentions, all three are seasonal layers. If you have a female rhea and one male and you eat all the eggs. Expect close to $200 per bird per year. If you hit the maximum seen at about 45 eggs, that us $400 to feed the birds, putting each egg at about $8.88 per egg. If you go straight Mazuri (use a mix of feeds otherwise you'll see deficiencies)it'll bring it up to $12.32 per egg for total feed to maintain your pair. Emu and ostrich are both bigger and will cost more to maintain your birds, Ostrich being noticeably more

You mentioned wanting to pasture raise, that is great, but most of the world will have a winter or a dry season where the pasture isn't able to produce much forage. You'll need a lot of land to only graze and/or feed when there is snow on the ground. If you give straight hay, you will run into a couple scenarios: the birds won't eat it or they are likely to get impaction and die. This is why I mentioned using heavily chopped hay. The chance of impaction is incredibly low as it is more similar lengths to them grazing. The reason I mention chopped hay over feed for rhea and ostrich is the cost of maintaining your stock goes from $200 per year down to $121 per year. If you can get good leafy alfalfa bales, awesome, most aren't able to fry them in such condition and the bales will be considerably dry. If your goal is for egg production, it will be costly. If it is to raise for meat to cover feed costs or as an addition to your farm, hobby farm, pet, ect then that side of things is able to validate the maintenance cost for the birds each year

On diet, they do eat grasses, leaves off of bushes, and whatever else they can snag. They also eat mice, lizards, amphibians, almost all insects, and some people I've seen will have have a small kitty pool they put cheap gold fish or something into as treats for the birds. Each of the three rattites will have different dietary needs that Google won't be able to cover properly, search this forum or some of the large, private groups on Facebook for diet, feed, food, ect to see what other folks are doing. Don't focus on a cheap feed, hay, forage that doesn't provide enough protein and other nutrients for them. During the breeding season, you'll need to provide oyster shells otherwise the females are likely to get short term to permanent damage. For rheas, the females eat the egg shells of hatched chicks to replenish their calcium levels, I'm assuming emu and ostrich are somewhat similar but a major source of calcium will be needed if you are taking all the eggs for eating and if their diet is lacking. I the wild, the thick eggshells are one way to discourage predation of rattite eggs

For looking for traits genetic markers are tough, phenotype is noticeably easier but you're still looking at a two year delay from chick to breeding age five or take. Weight gain is the best way, chicks raised or adopted by a parent will have also have increased weight gains early on which is one way to increase weight gains despite what genetics are present

 

[briefvisit]

'On diet, they do eat grasses, leaves off of bushes, and whatever else they can snag. They also eat mice, lizards, amphibians, almost all insects . . . '

Do they eat leaves? Is this a well-referenced datum?

SE

 

[shamorunner]

'On diet, they do eat grasses, leaves off of bushes, and whatever else they can snag. They also eat mice, lizards, amphibians, almost all insects . . . '

Do they eat leaves? Is this a well-referenced datum?

SE

Mine will eat readily eat your smaller leafsets like those found on briars, vining plants, bushes, and other plants found a foot off the ground or higher. In writings on it, I've only seen mentioning of specific leaves that can be stripped off of a plant stalk/stem, I'm assuming this mainly implies forages, bushes, shrubs, and other plants with leaves at a lower height that is easy for them to graze. I've only experienced with rhea, although I have seen mention of ostrich eating leaves by stripping them off the plant stalk

 

[briefvisit]

Good answer. Thank you for your trouble.

Supreme Emu