Emu pen question emus and wooden fence

[jarvis]

Can a emu fit through a 10-12 inch gap ?
Or is my paddock thats got wooden fwnce going to keep my year old female in. Shes friendly and calm ... What do the emu experts think?

 

[birdeo]

She will try if spooked, possibly getting stuck in the spaces. Why not line it with wire ? ( NOT barbed wire )
Dogs/other critters such as coyotes, if you have them , can get in and possibly kill the bird if nothing else.
Hope that fence is a minimum of 5 feet high, 6 feet is ideal for they can and will clear a 5 foot fence.

 

[xxnativewolfxx]

yea emu's when scared WILL ......and try.....to fit...jump...anything they can to escape... a 10 inch gap is a pretty big gap! i would put a strip of field fencing .....some how to block the gap! my emus are REALLY calm i always joke that i got broken emus they never play or run but when they get scared.....look out! i have 5 feet as the MAIN pen and they are only 9 months old...and they almost got OVER!! now there in a small winter part connected to our barn with 6 feet dog kennels lol but we are planning new pens for future birds were getting this winter ......thats why we will NEVER keep trios to not have the risk of jumpers!

 

[birdeo]

yea emu's when scared WILL ......and try.....to fit...jump...anything they can to escape... a 10 inch gap is a pretty big gap! i would put a strip of field fencing .....some how to block the gap! my emus are REALLY calm i always joke that i got broken emus they never play or run but when they get scared.....look out! i have 5 feet as the MAIN pen and they are only 9 months old...and they almost got OVER!! now there in a small winter part connected to our barn with 6 feet dog kennels lol but we are planning new pens for future birds were getting this winter ......thats why we will NEVER keep trios to not have the risk of jumpers!

Trios make no difference, if they get spooked ( or start fighting amongst even just a pair ) they will try/can clear that 5 foot fence.... as you found out.
Dog kennel panels as a rule are not sturdy enough to keep a good size emu in so hope you get that new pen in order asap.
Once a bird gets out you may very well have to deal with lawsuits ( if someone hits it with a car ) or you may just simply lose a loose bird from many possible causes.

 

[29PalmsRanch]

Checkout my post regarding fencing for ostriches. With all respect to the previous post, DO NOT face wood fence with field fence, especially 10 inch gaps. Instead, fasten additional rails to your fence to take out some of that space. 2x6's would do the trick and make the space too small for the birds to kick their feet through. If they kick into field fence, they can get trapped, hit the ground, panic and die. I lost a male to field fence in that exact manner 4 years ago. He was a 7ft blue/black beauty too.

 

[jarvis]

So add some more boards and i should be good with her ? Its six foot tall all the way around plus has a stall for her to get into to get away from the elements (not that she will ...

 

[29PalmsRanch]

Check the fence out in my profile picture. The space between the boards is exactly the board width. Honestly I can't remember if it is 5.75" or 5.5". I just made a couple of jigs out of scrap 2x6 that I could screw to the post to hold the board until we screwed it down. They acted as spacers/holders lol But I'm guessing that you are spacing out 3 or 4 boards by 12 inches. Find out what the exact measurement is. You should be alright with 6 inches or less open space between each board.

 

[jarvis]

Jets doing great in the pen she really a amazing mellow bird <3 she'll even eat out of a food scoop in your hand. Comes right over when you call her. =).
What are some treats your emus like ?

 

[jarvis]

PS the horses (except blade the odd ball ) are terrified of the raptor dinosaur horse eating monster I have brought home lol starting to calm down about it a bit but man they where freaked out by her

 

[xxnativewolfxx]

lol thats cute! my horse LOVES the raptor dinos! lol she dident at first when they shared the pen she tried to KILL the raptor dinos! lol but now she LOVES them since she lost her horse friend of 25 years a couple years ago these guys brought her out of her depression! there seperated now due to the emus obsession with sleeping outside we had to pen them up connected to the barn so they go IN at night lol