Emu Adventure

[birdmanmax]

Here's the brooder, right now I am feeding spinich and carrots for the first few days. I just put the waterer in today and he finally made his first poop! Tell me if you would make any adjustments or add anything else.

 

[briefvisit]

Wa ha ha. If you had -- whatchamacallit -- a back-up emu, he could sit on those chicks 'til you got the generator running.

And just for fun, like the old days, here's a report from the farm-house. Firstly, here's the gum tree by the house, in autumn sun:




And the data:

we've never observed at length a clutch nearly as big as this one -- nine chicks when they arrived, now eight. When newly-hatched, they move in close proximity; but take a look at the photo. I stopped 'provisioning' (the term the primatalogists use) the chicks a few days ago because there is now enough grass for them to live on; and they need -- particularly perhaps because they're orphans -- to not become 'fixated' on the house-clearing. (Normally, the male actively teaches the chicks his territory, and that male's territory becomes part of each chick's territory. The 'mapping of territories' is one of my favourite pastimes.)

And if you are a practiced observer, guys, you'd have noticed the shift from 'summer mode,' in which the emus peck peck peck at seeds, to 'autumn mode,' when they begin the sideways 'cropping' of grass. (You can hear it from twenty feet on a quiet day.)

So, see how spread out the chicks are. This is an excellent datum. They should continue to independently move farther and farther afield, until one day soon they'll just wander off on their own:



'briefvisit' is just an account name I used a while ago. My 'real' name is 'Supreme Emu.'

 

[birdmanmax]

Well you all were right! Day 56 and 3 more have hatched! And one more the last egg has pipped!

 

[mich9510]

We need pictures!!!!
Congratulations!

 

[birdmanmax]

I'll post some pics later today, and finally the last one hatched today day 57! Not bad for a homemade incubator and eggs that were more than two months old when set.

 

[Finnie]

I'll post some pics later today, and finally the last one hatched today day 57! Not bad for a homemade incubator and eggs that were more than two months old when set.

I think you did an awesome job! I've read several of the past hatching threads, and it seems like 100% emu hatch rate is hard to obtain. I hope all your chicks thrive.