First Emu Hatch

[Stingrayg4]

I don't really know much about emus, but I do hope to locate some eggs locally sometime in the coming year and hatch out a few. I just wanted to say congrats on your successful hatch and thanks for posting pics.

-S

 

[AlexBracken]

Hello everyone, just wanted to give a quick update and ask for advice. It's been a little over three days since hatching, and the emu has been struggling a little. It seems to have splayed leg (it always has it's legs spread straight out away from it and it was just shuffling itself around) so I placed a bandage on it's legs to keep them together. It doesn't seem to like it very much, but now it is balancing itself up on it's legs. I've been giving it water with a little gatorade in it to give it some electrolytes and it just went in a little kiddie pool of warm water which it loved; it drank so much of the water and was so happy in there. Does anyone have any advice about getting it up to walk? Should I be worried? Thanks!

 

[AlexBracken]

Hi guys, another quick question. The emu chick was getting much better with his splay legs, and was up and walking in the grass yesterday. He was still slipping on some other surfaces but he did very well on grass. Well this morning, he wouldn't stand up and would only shuffle; it seems as if he's digressed. I moved him into a cage outside on the grass hoping that he will get his footing back, as he won't let be keep a bandage brace on his legs (he will just throw his legs out behind him and wiggle) and he is starting to stand up again, but his legs are still very splayed. Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I just keep him on the grass to see if he'll be walking again soon? Thanks!

 

[AlexBracken]

Alright guys, by some miracle, the baby emu is up and walking now. I placed super non-slip padding in his cage to treat his splay leg and he seems to be getting better. Won't stop eating, it's ridiculous. He still walks with his legs somewhat outward facing, but they are getting better. Here are some pictures. He is a boy, so we named him Forrest because of his splay leg issue (Run Forrest, Run!).

 

[danischi24]

Hi. Sorry that no one answered your questions (usually the BYCers are good about that) but congrats on sorting the problem out so well by yourself & he is such a cute little monster!

 

[foulman007]

I guess hes about 4 days they take a bit to get their balance and get going. Looking at your pics he looks ok but i think its too soon to tell I had 2 with splayed legs and it wasnt real aparent till about a week or so. Get him out in the grass or on some hard dirt and let him run around. a wide stance is a young balance thing a 90 deg turn on the foot is splay.

this is about a week old chick with no doubt splay
If your baby does have this there is nothing you can do its done. Just love him and......
If its just a wide stance thats normal seen it 20 times this year dont worry too much bandaids bindings even prostetics wouldnt help mine it just added to the suffering.

Just putting it out there and as always just my opinion. From your photos he looks normal to me.

 

[AlexBracken]

Wow really? Thanks so much Foulman007, that really cleared everything up. His feet aren't splayed like that, they are just a wide stance I guess. I'm glad that it's normal and nothing to worry about. He gets frequent trips to the yard many times a day, and he is on a non -slip surface the rest of the time. He is actually 7 days old today, which is why I've been so worried; he seems to be a bit late to walk. He's getting his footing now though and doing much better.

 

[foulman007]

They gotta practice. I have had them up runniing in 3 days and some wont even stand till 4 or more. I would take mine outside and make them follow me around while I feed all the other animals. I have 2 left from my last hatch me and my wife spent about 10 minutes trying to catch the little buggers at 9 days they are quick.
I had thought hard about not posting that pic. It almost feels like I failed the little guy. He died later that night. But I know there was nothing that could be done. There is so much mis-information and conjecture on splay some say it diet some incubation some genetics. The breeders will tell you its diet I think to get the blame off them. The pet owner will say its the breeder. I think Its just a random combination of genetics and a slightly smaller egg. The 2 I had with splay were both from eggs that at lay weight were around 530 g most of my healthy hatches were from eggs in the 580-630g range. So next year I will be blowing out any egg unedrweight you can be sure.

all of my eggs came from the same parents and were collected within hours after hatch. incubated in the same bator turned the same # of times. Weighed once a week and kept at the same humidity to keep loss around 11%-12%. I am not a professional breeder Its just a hobby for me. And again these are just my opinions so take them as such just like anything else you read on the net.

 

[AlexBracken]

That's interesting, and I think you're right about the causes for splay leg. Thank you for clearing it up, I would've been one of those who went around not knowing what splay leg actually is. Everyone does seem to point fingers at what the cause is. It's funny what you said about the weight of the egg, all three of my eggs were underweight. The egg that hatched weighed the least of them all at only 448g. I guess we'll see how he grows, but like I said he is doing well as of now. Thanks so much for all that great info you gave me, I appreciate it.

 

[the4heathernsmom]

THAT is a super cute bird!!! I know nothing about emus but I really enjoyed the pics and the info......that was great!
Nice to see your little guy up and going congratulations!!!!!