Emu Egg Help

[TheFoagz]

Ultrasound wouldn't work because of the shell thickness; it's like trying to use ultrasound on bone. We humans are -in a way- lucky that we only surround our babies with soft tissue as they develop.
MRI, though, could theoretically see through bone, shell, or stone, so it'd be the best bet to see them without using radiation.
Sounds like a promising sign, although admittedly I went near-crazy waiting for mine both times I hatched as well. It's so exciting to see them wiggle, though... Even if everyone else just thinks you're even crazier.
I just got an egg. It's near double the size of emu eggs normally and may well hold twins. It's super exciting, but also it means that the egg only has a very small chance of hatching. I might get another of the same, too.
Let round three of me going insane because of emu eggs commence! Even more so now with these specific eggs... I'm thinking of getting more, normal eggs so that I won't be depressed if the giants don't hatch, but then again I think that might be crossing the line into addiction territory.

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I took a flying leap right over the line into full eggdiction. Keep me updated on your new egg that is so exciting.

 

[TheFoagz]

Update There were 8 eggs in the nest when I moved them to the incubator 1 had a crack I tried to save it but it went bad. 3 days after I moved the original 8 to the incubator she layed another egg I am pretty sure that one is infertile (it sounds different) that leaves 7 that might hatch. I have started getting strong wiggling from 4 of them. 1 other is possibly wiggling and 2 i haven't seen ang movement from. But since she was laying and adding to the nest I am hoping they are just further behind. Its day 44 according to my math so I will keep everyone updated as the hatch date approaches.

 

[sseabass]

Hello. I thought I would jump in also.
I have 3 free range Emus. They cruse around with all of the other critters; chickens, Guineas, 1 goose and 2 pot bellie pigs.. we live in Montana and it’s cold with deep snow here often in the winter. They all happily camp together in the barn that is covered with deep straw and the door is open during the day unless temps drop to zero and below. We have a small ceiling garage heating for those days.
Edwina was given to me 10 yrs ago and I don’t know how old she was then. I bought Ayleth and Clyde 2.5 yrs ago as chicks.
Surprise, surprise 2 eggs in the pasture next to a shed. Sadly they were frozen.
So we decided to close the corral gate that night after everyone went tinto the barn. We also put the straw that was under the frozen eggs in the barn. We watched
Then finally there appears a new eggs. I was new at this and wasn’t sure what to do because of the cold I didn’t want more frozen eggs so I start reading but then there are 2 and Ayleth has set up camp
I hadn’t read enough and thought that if I took them now they would die so I left them. Then there were 3 eggs We are so excited but eventually I read enough and think enough and finally realize Ayleth has a clutch of eggs that are being laid every 3-4 days apart so their hatching dates are going to be satggerd
I’ve been reading and ordered The Emu Farmer’s Handbook and looking on BackyardChickens.
Saw your post Foags and was excited about your chicks to come. Decided to jump in. Let me know if I should write more ~~~~

 

[sseabass]

Oh, I forgot most important decision of Ayleth’s. He decided to set right away. At first I didn’t know if it was Edwina or one of the boys. Funny thing is I can only tell them apart from their feet. Edwina is missing one talon and Clyde is missing both outer talons on both feet ( breeder removed them. Didn’t notice when we picked him up at their farm. I assume to keep them from fights with each other ? ) Straw and snow was too deep and and I’m not really set up for incubating the eggs end on and on.
So, I figured out it was Ayleth setting on the eggs and he wasn’t budging and then there were 3 eggs and now he has 8. By then we were way in over our heads.
I have a plan, now we are in wait and see mode ~~~

 

[sseabass]

Oh yes, at 8 eggs I decided enough is enough and we fences Ayleth and his clutch off from Edwina so she couldn’t leave him any more ‘gifts’

 

[sseabass]

 

[Erka97]

Hello.
I've recently stumbled across articles stating that male emus slowly increase the temperature during early incubation, so that the eggs laid later will develop somewhat faster than the earlier eggs did when the sitting began and in the end all eggs hatch at about the same time. This seems like it would be important for you and your emu that started sitting before all the eggs were laid, although there is the risk that the later eggs would not be fertile because the male is too busy sitting on eggs to breed with the female.

Do you have a large fenced area for all your animals, or are they truly free range? I've been wondering if I could let my nearly year old emu out of his pasture sometimes, or if he'd run away and get into trouble if I did so.

 

[sseabass]

That’s great info. Thanks. It will be interesting to see what happens. I was able to mark the eggs in their relative order. Not totally accurate but close.
I have another male, Clyde. We hadn’t noticed any mating this winter at all. I did see them mate this Fall but that was months ago. I started thinking that maybe I was doing all of this prep and worry for unfertilized eggs so I decided to crack one open. It was very sad. There were a few blood vessels and a tiny dot. I was so sad
So, it’s all such a mystery. Hopefully there are other fertile eggs and hopefully Clyde has been breeding Edwina so she was still laying fertile eggs.
I also heard something that was a bit similar about the eggs hatching fairly close together in this type of situation.
Ayleth doesn’t love me petting him but now he is very docile. He seems fine with me checking the eggs and rubbing his neck and shoulders a bit.
So, to your question. I guess they are free range in that they go where they want in a 5 ac hay field that is attached to small pasture with a pond and the chicken coop and then attached to the corrals and barn. They either follow us with a bucket of feed or we herd them slowly. Or they just follow me because they either figure I have something for them to eat or just because. They are very curious and social as near as I can tell. Sometimes I leave the gate open because I like to just watch them cruse around. They are so funny. If they didn’t have such big yukky poops, I’d let them out more often. When they have gotten out and wandered off a bit, we just find them and one person has the bucket and the other walks behind them. They don’t seem to have this feeling of ‘Oh boy, we’ve escaped so let’s run and take off’
I feel that if your Emus are relatively tame and follow you around in their enclosure already and are attached to you and your feed bucket, then it’s a maybe. Have someone with you to practice before you do it outside the paddock.
My Emus aren’t really flighty or afraid of people or anything that I’ve noticed. When I leave the gate open they go back in on their own half the time. It’s their home.
Make sure that there aren’t any other little critters out that they haven’t already bonded with. They will attack strange dogs and such with their feet. I found out the hard way that they are fine with whatever animals are part of their pack but they aren’t with strange critters. I turned out some turkey chicks when they were about a month old and Clyde charged at them instantly and calumped his big foot right on top of one and killed it. I now introduce new critters slowly with a fence in between and when I do open the gate, I have a little safe house that the little ones can escape under.
I better stop now. I love my Emus. I never planned on any of this. My first two were given to me. The owners needed to find them a new home. I lost their number years ago so I actually don’t know how old Edwina is ? We’ve had her for about 10 years. Her buddy, Male? Female? died a few years back. That is why a got Ayleth and Clyde. I felt Edwina was lonely ~~~

 

[sseabass]