EMU IS/HAS LOSING/LOST FEATHERS

[Calientelysie]

Thank you, he loves sitting under a tree, he is not tamed, He walked on our farm 10 years ago and has been with us ever since. I am wondering if just letting him go in the yard is better so he can run more than trying to restrict him would help.

I will see what I can do....hummm he is a picky bird that loves grapes, tried to put a shirt on him yesterday and got it on but not all the way, he took it off :-(


Tee hee -- he just turned up? and adopted you? He was feral? How interesting!

And he is tame. I suggested a notation some years ago, a scale from one to a hundred. Heck, Groestl the Emu has been here a month, and still comes not closer than about twenty metres. If you can lay hands on Ernie, he's quite tame.

And getting him more exercise? I was going to mention it yesterday. Yes!! If he can get out into the sun, and run around in the biggest area possible, I think that would be fine medicine for Ernie.

Hehehehe Well today I took him out to the other area and he wanted to get really close to me, like very close, this is not like him so did not know if this was being aggressive but he did not want to food in my hands o since I know he has a good beak and strong legs I try to keep my distance. Any thoughts on this behavior?

 

[briefvisit]

He was friendlier in the open? I'll have to think about that.

And aggression? Several quick thoughts: one: emus 'beak' things as a way of exploring them ('cause they got no hands to hold stuff with . . . ). Uno Chick once grabbed my nose, and I nearly died of fright. So if an emu is 'pecking' at you, don't be too alarmed. (Note: they will peck at shiny things. They luuuuuurv shiny things!!)

Two: notwithstanding 'Youtube Emu Kills My Wife and Family and Sets Fire to Our SUV,' we have literally almost no reports ever of emus attacking people -- at least without provocation, in the open. You never met Eric the Emu, the 'double alpha' bird who reigned here. I'd rather have gone into the ring against an hydraulic ice pick than against Eric, but that pertains to cornered critters defending themselves. (Emus hate to be cornered or constrained in any way. Getting them on to trailers is apparently an art.)

[Note, readers: cassowaries and ostriches are notoriously aggressive.]

All this is to say that if Ernie the Emu was gonna attack you, it'd already be all over. The speed with which they strike is awe inspiring. He'd have just run up to you, and slashed a chunk of feathers out of your feather pyjamas.

Do I understand that your reluctant to hand feed him? Several things go very well together: silence and stillness and food they like. Sit yourself down on a chair. Throw food down all around you. Sit really really still. And quiet. Still and quiet. Ernie will likely approach you. Eye you and the food. Drop to his knees, and sidle forward to eat. If he comes close enough, you can give him a little stroke.
If you try to hand feed him, don't mistake normal emu lunge-peck-twist-snatch for aggression. I hand feed all the tame-wild birds here. Some are accurate and gentle. Some will almost drill a hole in your hand.

(This is a great way to get to pat wild chicks -- food makes them forget to pay attention. If you ever really really need to examine a chick, you can snatch it up using this technique: get the entire clutch quietly eating around your legs, and then snatch up the chick in question.)

[Wait. I can hear them out the back. Here is Uno Chick, the adult; and a yearling, one of Eric's orphans: https://imgur.com/a/sM7p5 ]


Supreme Emu

 

[Calientelysie]

He was friendlier in the open? I'll have to think about that.

And aggression? Several quick thoughts: one: emus 'beak' things as a way of exploring them ('cause they got no hands to hold stuff with . . . ). Uno Chick once grabbed my nose, and I nearly died of fright. So if an emu is 'pecking' at you, don't be too alarmed. (Note: they will peck at shiny things. They luuuuuurv shiny things!!)

Two: notwithstanding 'Youtube Emu Kills My Wife and Family and Sets Fire to Our SUV,' we have literally almost no reports ever of emus attacking people -- at least without provocation, in the open. You never met Eric the Emu, the 'double alpha' bird who reigned here. I'd rather have gone into the ring against an hydraulic ice pick than against Eric, but that pertains to cornered critters defending themselves. (Emus hate to be cornered or constrained in any way. Getting them on to trailers is apparently an art.)

[Note, readers: cassowaries and ostriches are notoriously aggressive.]

All this is to say that if Ernie the Emu was gonna attack you, it'd already be all over. The speed with which they strike is awe inspiring. He'd have just run up to you, and slashed a chunk of feathers out of your feather pyjamas.

Do I understand that your reluctant to hand feed him? Several things go very well together: silence and stillness and food they like. Sit yourself down on a chair. Throw food down all around you. Sit really really still. And quiet. Still and quiet. Ernie will likely approach you. Eye you and the food. Drop to his knees, and sidle forward to eat. If he comes close enough, you can give him a little stroke.
If you try to hand feed him, don't mistake normal emu lunge-peck-twist-snatch for aggression. I hand feed all the tame-wild birds here. Some are accurate and gentle. Some will almost drill a hole in your hand.

(This is a great way to get to pat wild chicks -- food makes them forget to pay attention. If you ever really really need to examine a chick, you can snatch it up using this technique: get the entire clutch quietly eating around your legs, and then snatch up the chick in question.)

[Wait. I can hear them out the back. Here is Uno Chick, the adult; and a yearling, one of Eric's orphans: https://imgur.com/a/sM7p5 ]


Supreme Emu

Aww that is sweet. I need to upload a picture of Ernie. He was sweet today like always, he let me pet his neck . I do feed him in the hand but he was oddly close close and he did not want the food I had in my hand and wanted to be very close like on me and I never experienced that. He was happy today, I could tell and he let me pet him on the neck which was the first.

Ernie drops to his knees when we turn on the water and he wants the water on him. It is cute.

Today the weather is warm thank God, still on Operation help Ernie and still want to put something on him but I do not want him to hate me for trying.

I will take another photo of him today up close. He likes the bling on my phone lol