Emu questions

[juno553]

Hello! I'm thinking about getting a male emu chick this summer, I've done a lot of research but I still have a few questions.
Can emu's be kept alone? I have other birds (Turkeys, Chickens, Ducks) I could raise it with and some horses it could mingle around with when it gets older.
What should I feed it? I have seen a lot of people say different things. What should I change the food to when it gets older?
I live in Minnesota it gets pretty cold here, I have a heated shed were I keep all my other birds but there's not much room for an emu. How cold should it get before I should herd the emu into the shed?
Any information is helpful

 

[Kessel23]

I think they need to at least be kept in pairs but I am not positive. @Pyxis knows alot about Emu.

 

[Gallimimus]

I just made a thread asking the same thing (about the lone emu) Pyxis was very helpful

My thoughts are it's not good for the bird. In my opinion, the breeder really should have been selling you two if she knew you didn't have any others. If you can't find any other chicks, or find any eggs this year to try to hatch (and it's getting to the end of the season so that can be iffy) then start getting on lists for next year now.

From my thread.
From this, I then went into some more extensive research and spent quite a few hours going through threads, sites, and books. Emus are considered "Solitary" Here is some info pulled from a few different sites. "Emus are solitary creatures and although they often travel in large flocks where there is food, this is not a social behavior. Emus are not really social. Exception is of young birds, which stay with their father with certain period of time" and " Usually solitary, emus can form enormous migratory flocks when moving toward better food resources. Flocks often travel long distances for food and water. In Western Australia, emus move northward in the summer and southward in the winter" and also "Although they are solitary creatures, emus can live in flocks or pairs. When they form a flock, they don’t do it for company – they just all gather where food is" and one more "While solitary animals, they usually travel in pairs. However, this is not social a behavior or for the company. It is for strength in numbers, as well as to find and steal food from other emus" However some members here have proved this(being largely solitary) to be wrong. So take from it what you will. Here is something from another member (@briefvisit who observes wild emus and has a lot of really great info that has been shared! I've loved reading about how they behave in their natural environment)

I think so. We have had this discussion over the years. Emus are much more 'flocky' than the ornithological term 'solitary' suggests.

When you watch them in the wild, you see that they are more often together; that they love to squabble; they love to graze quietly in groups.

If you have the space, try to at least get a bird a mate

Personally, I think a lone(adult) bird would be fine based on all the reading I've done. However, having no one while its young is a different story. I think it would be lonely, and sad. Not saying you or anyone else should keep only one, in fact, I think everyone should have at least 2 if it is a possibility. So far for me, it is not. I am only getting one as the breeder has no others at the moment and I cannot find hatching eggs (and even then I'm not guaranteed a hatch) So it may need to just be raised with a batch of turkey poults or chicks. I think it will be fine, my guess is it would bond to them and follow them in a "flock" to get the good foods. Who knows though. I have never owned and emu before and get my first next week, so all this info is from a not so educated emu owner to be, so I can be more than wrong on all this. Just giving my 2 cents.

 

[juno553]

@Gallimimus Thank you I'll keep this in mind

 

[MissouriNewb]

Hello! I'm thinking about getting a male emu chick this summer, I've done a lot of research but I still have a few questions.
Can emu's be kept alone? I have other birds (Turkeys, Chickens, Ducks) I could raise it with and some horses it could mingle around with when it gets older.
What should I feed it? I have seen a lot of people say different things. What should I change the food to when it gets older?
I live in Minnesota it gets pretty cold here, I have a heated shed were I keep all my other birds but there's not much room for an emu. How cold should it get before I should herd the emu into the shed?
Any information is helpful

I would suggest not getting a lone emu. They are very social birds and in the wild would be in large groups. Some people say they will get attached to other animals, but having a male female pair seems to help emu thrive.

 

[MissouriNewb]

Hello! I'm thinking about getting a male emu chick this summer, I've done a lot of research but I still have a few questions.
Can emu's be kept alone? I have other birds (Turkeys, Chickens, Ducks) I could raise it with and some horses it could mingle around with when it gets older.
What should I feed it? I have seen a lot of people say different things. What should I change the food to when it gets older?
I live in Minnesota it gets pretty cold here, I have a heated shed were I keep all my other birds but there's not much room for an emu. How cold should it get before I should herd the emu into the shed?
Any information is helpful

As for feed. You should feed it different things at different ages. It seems easiest for most people to not get super caught up in some of these small details.

For example a lot of people say you just must get ratite feed. Two problems it is not cheap and not easy to find.

However, I think this has a lot more to do with protein content. For example my emu chicks have always done quite well with any game bird starter with 20-28% protein. I also supplement with plenty of greens and vitamin b early on. This has a few benefits, but I’ll leave off for sake of brevity.

As they get older, this is largely based on protein content as well. Openly just giving them kibble and rabbit pellets for most people seems to work well also. It is inexpensive compared to some other foods as well. If you can find ratite food and afford it I would say go for it. But getting a cheap kibble seems to be all is necessary for most owners, especially if they have some space to graze.

I really think most animals can almost sense what they need and eat what they need it you will give them some options.

 

[MissouriNewb]

Hello! I'm thinking about getting a male emu chick this summer, I've done a lot of research but I still have a few questions.
Can emu's be kept alone? I have other birds (Turkeys, Chickens, Ducks) I could raise it with and some horses it could mingle around with when it gets older.
What should I feed it? I have seen a lot of people say different things. What should I change the food to when it gets older?
I live in Minnesota it gets pretty cold here, I have a heated shed were I keep all my other birds but there's not much room for an emu. How cold should it get before I should herd the emu into the shed?
Any information is helpful

As for the cold. This is really not too much of a problem.

They will go in if they need to. Just make sure to teach them using food that this is the place for them.

 

[MissouriNewb]

Hello! I'm thinking about getting a male emu chick this summer, I've done a lot of research but I still have a few questions.
Can emu's be kept alone? I have other birds (Turkeys, Chickens, Ducks) I could raise it with and some horses it could mingle around with when it gets older.
What should I feed it? I have seen a lot of people say different things. What should I change the food to when it gets older?
I live in Minnesota it gets pretty cold here, I have a heated shed were I keep all my other birds but there's not much room for an emu. How cold should it get before I should herd the emu into the shed?
Any information is helpful

Last quick thing of note. If you plan to keep emu with your other birds. It may not be an issue but their can be some accidental or intentional stomping if the emu get annoyed by the smaller bird.

If you raise them together from a young age this is less likely, but just wanted to give you fair warning.