Found Emu

[Bothersome Bob Barber]

For some reason this site popped up when I asked the internet what Emus eat. Then I saw some other posts about Emus, so here I go also...

An Emu just wandered into my yard in southern Texas. What do they eat, please?

 

[jolenesdad]

Why can't an emu just "show up" here? That's probably the only way I'd get away with it, even for a minute.

 

[CindyinSD]

I think showing up on someone else’s property, pulling a gun without warning and shooting (even one’s own) ostrich is very extreme behavior and probably a violation of some property law or gun law or combo of the two. Still, you might feel a bit uneasy about pressing charges against a crazy person that wouldn’t be likely to put him away for a very, very long time.

 

[Pyxis]

Hope you can find its owner! Someone is probably missing him.

Emus can be fed either ratite pellets, which you may be able to find at a feed store, or if you can't find those, they can eat a 50/50 mixture of chicken layer pellets and rabbit pellets.

 

[aart]

Why can't an emu just "show up" here? That's probably the only way I'd get away with it, even for a minute.

Maybe you could make arrangements for @Bothersome Bob Barber to 'drop it off'?

 

[Ebony Rose]

My google search for "Emu diet" returned the following information: Emus eat a simple diet of fruits, seeds, growing shoots of plants and insects. They swallow small stones (called gastroliths or gizzard stones) which stay in the gizzard and help grind up food. They require a large amount of water, drinking 9-18 litres daily. Source: https://parkweb.vic.gov.au › __data › assets › pdf_file › emu4

Other websites pretty much echoed the above, and all stressed that they must have copious amounts of fresh water available to them around the clock, stating that they will awaken due to thirst several times nightly.

 

[briefvisit]

Morning, BBB.

If your question was about long-term feeding, we'd get the U.S. incubators to advise. They are uber knowledgeable.
But for keeping one (1) emoo alive and well for a few weeks:

They love wheat and similar. Likewise muesli and 'ratite feed' and pretty much any carbs -- like your pasta salad.
They love and need fresh fruit and veg. Or dried fruit. Wonderfully, the test is dead easy: if it's Yummy for Emus, they'll scoff it up. If it's not, they won't.

Try chopped spinach -- any sort of greens.

But for your peace of mind, BBB: emooz in the wild do it hard at various times of year. And the males fast for seven weeks during incubation. So, while you Figure It Out, Emoo will be fine with any reasonable variety of food that it finds yummy.

If I may suggest, check its environs. They must be scrupulously free of shiny objects -- glass, nails, screws -- which it might also scoff down. And the fencing must be free of sharp projections.

[Got a wild male vocalising just near the house.]

Talk quietly to it. Move slowly and smoothly around it.

SE

 

[Bothersome Bob Barber]

Hope you can find its owner! Someone is probably missing him.

Emus can be fed either ratite pellets, which you may be able to find at a feed store, or if you can't find those, they can eat a 50/50 mixture of chicken layer pellets and rabbit pellets.

Thank you... I gave him some pellets that are high in protein that I have for my cows. He came right up to me to eat some, but he didn't eat as much as i thought he would... maybe he's not starving. He is running around in an area where farmers put stuff out for their cattle. He has many square miles to run around in, but seems to favor our bog.

 

[Bothersome Bob Barber]

I have been in contact with two different refuges that are more than happy to help me out. However, the Emu might not be lost as I thought... One refuge informed me that ranchers will purchase Emus to help fend off coyotes... so I may just be in his territory. We are talking to the land owners in this area to make sure it is owned.

 

[briefvisit]

Apparently, Texas has feral emus. Really -- Google it