Emu size and weight

[Ellamumu]

How does one determine if their emu is the correct weight? I have 2 boys El is a little over 2 and Ed is a little over 1, they are about the same height but other than that they are completely different. Ed has bigger feet ,a longer beak,bigger head ,very dark brown eyes and a ridiculous over abundance of feathers.He also has big fat thighs and belly. El seems to look more like all the pics of emus you see, sleek glossy feathers,gold eyes etc....but no big fat belly. So my question is is Ed overly fat or is El too thin,how do you tell, both birds eat fine,and run around all day

 

[briefvisit]

Me away, ella. But email morrow.
Something odd here. One year old is a chick. Should be half sized.
Always been struck by the uniformity in size of wild birds. Yes some are tall and skinny. Some are just a little beamier. But differences in feet and bellies?? No
SE

 

[briefvisit]

Eyes differ in colour.
Could you post photos?
SE

 

[Ellamumu]

 

[Ellamumu]

 

[Ellamumu]

el is in the top picture normal gold eyes, Ed is in the 2nd picture eyes are so dark brown they are almost black weird huh

 

[briefvisit]

Me still on the road (smsrtphone)
Ella me see big difference in eye color. Yes -- gold to black.
Sassybird has Roman Nose -- a little bump
More later
Se

 

[Haida]

Your boys are so pretty!

I looked in my Emu Farmer's Handbook, here's the only thing I could find about seeing if they're overweight or not:

"An excessive amount of fat is when you can feel a layer thicker than about 1/2" on top of the ribs, by the sternum, under the wings. Emus have hardly any breast meat, so if there is a thick fat layer it can easily be felt in those places."

Hope this helps!

 

[Ellamumu]

Ok thanks that helps a lot, Eddies a fatty! LOL