Feeding baby Emu?

[Erka97]

So, one of my eggs has hatched, and it's three, going on four days old now! I couldn't find any ratite starter, but others who raise the chicks say they use chick starter and layer feed with good success, but it must be non medicated.. So, other emu people on here, what is best? I have Dumor Organic Chick Starter, Dumor Layer Crumbles, and Purina Non-Medicated chick starter and grower. Which should I feed, and should I mix them? Note that I don't know if the layer feed is medicated or not.

 

[briefvisit]

Second time this morning I gotta note that I don't know what I'm talking about: I am tame-wild emu guy, not captive emu guy.

Meanwhile, while you're waiting for info on ratite feeds, go to the fridge, the garden, the store, the cupboard. Get things like carrots and spinach. Raisins. Pasta. Chop them small. Present them to Emooo. One of two things will then happen. Emooo will not eat them. Or Emooo will decide they are Yummy for Emus, and scoff them down.
Seriously: chicks do not live by dry feed alone. They MUST have fresh foods.

Here is Greedy Emu. I once left a pasta salad on the back step while I went in to get salt. She ate almost the whole plate in twenty seconds:

http://imgur.com/a/xSqov



se

 

[Erka97]

Oh yes, my baby has been eating its greens, I was only asking about the dry feed. Currently it enjoys a mix of spinach, baby kale, and broccoli that I get wet so at least baby gets a little water -it won't drink so far.
It also likes to pick and eat leaves from the weeds in my grass when I take it outside.

 

[biophiliac]

I though I'd better post an update on Daryl. Its been a few days.
Daryl will be 4 months old on April 25th. She is becoming so much more independent. She's still sleeping in the chicken coop but during the day she spends most of her time by herself. Im surprised she's still sleeping in the coop, when it gets dark she just walks right in and lays down.
I haven't heard her distress call in about a week. When we heard her before we would say "daryl's lost" and have to find her chicken friends for her. (Recall i had to buy Daryl some isa brown chicks from rural king because she was lonely). If she sees her chickens she walks over to say hi but it turns out these Isa Browns have the activity level of a cornish cross which simply wont do for Daryl.
I know this is probably abnormal but we actually feed daryl in the house in the entry way. All the chickens and ducks love the fresh greens, fruit, nuts, and insects we give Daryl, in addition to her pellets we supplement with. They all get their own treats and emu pellets arent cheap. So when daryl gets hungry she simply comes to the door and whistles at us. We let her in, she eats her fill, and then goes back outside. Sometimes she snacks on the chickens feed but most of her food is specially made for her by her humans. I will type some more regarding her relationships with the other animals and her humans later but i have to get ready for work.

Quote is from "The Life of Daryl the Emu" thread.

I think @mich9510 uses Ratite pellets...maybe they can be purchased on line? Sorry IDK the answer to your specific question.

 

[briefvisit]

Oh, perhaps my error, Erka: I assumed Emooo was only going to get pellets. (Sigh: it happens all too often.) The eating outside is v. healthy: it works the neck muscles. Wild chicks spend hours a day snatching their food. And try Emooo with dried fruit, like dried grapes or prunes. In my experience, they'll love dried fruit.

 

[Erka97]

Baby loves his leaves, but doesn't like his chick food much, even when mixed up with his leaves and a bit of water. I'll be buying him proper ratite food online later today. I'll also get some string and hang some leaves from the top of his coop, since I remember on one post you said they snatch food from trees and things normally so that's good for them too.
I'll try the fruit as well, although I'll probably have to cut it up so he doesn't choke.

 

[birdeo]

So, one of my eggs has hatched, and it's three, going on four days old now! I couldn't find any ratite starter, but others who raise the chicks say they use chick starter and layer feed with good success, but it must be non medicated.. So, other emu people on here, what is best? I have Dumor Organic Chick Starter, Dumor Layer Crumbles, and Purina Non-Medicated chick starter and grower. Which should I feed, and should I mix them? Note that I don't know if the layer feed is medicated or not.

Out of the three you mentioned your best choice would be the Purina non medicated.
Medicated or not is really not an issue though, I've used medicated with NO ISSUES for many many chicks .
Ditch the laying crumble idea...the calcium phosphorus ratio is not ideal for growing chicks. The protein would be higher than you need for them also.
If you can, keep the protein 20% or lower , too high protein can cause leg and other growth related issues.

Also, purina does, as far as I know, still carry the Mazuri line of ratite chick starter.
http://www.mazuri.com/mazuriratitestarter.aspx

 

[birdmanmax]

I have used non medicated chick starter mixed with layer pellets(crumbled for the first week or two) and rabbit pellets (also crumbled for the first few weeks). These are mixed eveningly with 1/3 being starter 1/3 being layer and so forth. We are going on three months with this diet and doing great. The babies are now taller then my waist and running around like crazy.

 

[Erka97]

I just got Ratite starter shipped today, so starting tomorrow I will be phasing out the chick starter I've been feeding him and putting the ratite starter in his food mix instead. I mix his spinach/kale and chick food together so he can't just eat the leaves and nothing else.. He still just mostly picks out the leaves, though.

 

[briefvisit]

Emooo v good at 'picking out.'