free range emu?

[xxnativewolfxx]

i had purchased emu eggs from ebay lik a week ago and I have never owned them before! but I have done my research and im good with trial by error lol we have homestead in pa up in the mountians and we have huge fields and I was going to keep them in our one pen where we keep our turkeys geese ducks chickens goats its pretty BIG! plenty of room to run! but my problem is the fenceing we have is feild fencieng but its not 5 feet! I mean I have a good while until they go out with the others and changes will be made for them but I was wondering if one were to get out some how would it stick around long enough for me to get it back in or will it just say BYE! lol we have a horse who dosent have a set pen lol she roams where ever she wants! lol never leaveing ear shot of the farm but I know emus aren't horses I was only wondering because we will be raising them by hand that they would be calmer and not as jumpy!!

 

[Ramblin Rooster]

i had purchased emu eggs from ebay lik a week ago and I have never owned them before! but I have done my research and im good with trial by error lol we have homestead in pa up in the mountians and we have huge fields and I was going to keep them in our one pen where we keep our turkeys geese ducks chickens goats its pretty BIG! plenty of room to run! but my problem is the fenceing we have is feild fencieng but its not 5 feet! I mean I have a good while until they go out with the others and changes will be made for them but I was wondering if one were to get out some how would it stick around long enough for me to get it back in or will it just say BYE! lol we have a horse who dosent have a set pen lol she roams where ever she wants! lol never leaveing ear shot of the farm but I know emus aren't horses I was only wondering because we will be raising them by hand that they would be calmer and not as jumpy!!

I would think it would run away. A little risky too for a big bird like that, could be stolen or hit by a car. Form what I've heard they're expensive so it's probably not worth it. How are you hatching such big eggs?

 

[xxnativewolfxx]

that's what I assume as well that the would bolt but I knew people that had a couple emus on there farm long ago and I talked to them about 3 month ago and they told me that an emu is just like an over sized chicken but they said that it would probly run away the chance it would stay is if it was at the farm for YEARS and knew where the food was! but that the only way to really know what to expect is to get them for your self because each experience is different! its not so much the size im worried about I've dealt with rather LARGE animals before and I am TERRIBLE at incubating ENY form of egg! lol that is why I am letting my friend who has MANY years experience incubating all kinds of birds do it for me! lol he has one of those professional incubators that has settings specifically for the bird and it even has ostrich and emu settings!!! i mean as for expense i was told that they are easy to feed just like a horse really because of they graze and i guess from what i know u can feed them corn layer feed dog food ect as for expense with the fencing that's a different story that is the ONLY real problem i have is getting the fences ready ect but i guess it will be one of those things! lol

 

[Ramblin Rooster]

that's what I assume as well that the would bolt but I knew people that had a couple emus on there farm  long ago and I talked to them about 3 month ago and they told me that an emu is just like an over sized chicken but they said that it would probly run away the chance it would stay is if it was at the farm for YEARS and knew where the food was! but that the only way to really know what to expect is to get them for your self because each experience is different! its not so much the size im worried about I've dealt with rather LARGE animals before and I am TERRIBLE at incubating ENY form of egg! lol that is why I am letting my friend who has MANY years experience incubating all kinds of birds do it for me! lol he has one of those professional incubators that has settings specifically for the bird and it even has ostrich and emu settings!!! i mean as for expense i was told that they are easy to feed just like a horse really because of they graze and i guess from what i know u can feed them corn layer feed dog food ect as for expense with the fencing that's a different story that is the ONLY real problem i have is getting the fences ready ect  but i guess it will be one of those things! lol

I know they need LOTS of room to walk around too. I read it needs to be at least 120 feet long and they run 30mph or more!

 

[xxnativewolfxx]

OH MY GOODNESS I KNOWWW!!! ha ha they are like velociraptors!! yea the pen we have now is pretty big all together the whole pen is about 150 maybe something like that they have PLENTY of room lol the MOST im afraid of is I read also that the love to hook there nails in the fence in the corners and tumble over it!

 

[Ramblin Rooster]

OH MY GOODNESS I KNOWWW!!! ha ha they are like velociraptors!! yea the pen we have now is pretty big all together the whole pen is about 150 maybe something like that they have PLENTY of room lol the MOST im afraid of is I read also that the love to hook there nails in the fence in the corners and tumble over it!

Haha

velociraptor never thought of that, but yes HUGE!

 

[Ramblin Rooster]

hey I just noticed... you're new to byc....

 

[moonjelly]

At my old place I had 48 inch fencing and it mostly kept the emu in. One time though something must have spooked them and one of them got on the other side of the fence and off the property. I have no idea how long he was out for, but when I came outside to feed the animals I saw him. So he definitely stuck around for some amount of time and didn't go wandering. It was a pain to get him back over to the other side. I think for the most part if you raised the emu on your property and especially if there's other emu friends back on the other side of the fence, they're going to stick around. However, you never know and it's dangerous because of predators alone. Maybe you could attach a top barbless strand wire to extend the height of your existing fence?

 

[xxnativewolfxx]

yes im new!!! lol thank you!!! I love BYC!!!! I mean I guess im not awfully new but I just started using it heavily lol and I have 48 inch fencing right now and im so glad you didn't have eny problems!! and yes that what I was going to do !!! I have lots of barb wire in our barn I was just going to make it taller! im so glad to hear also he didn't run away yea that's the ONLY thing im afraid of is them being spooked !! I mean they wont hatch till like the 27th of jan so and there's a 50 50 chance they may not even hatch and live so Im trying not to get my hopes up but its so hard im just so excited!!!!

 

[moonjelly]

I got both my emu eggs off ebay and they both hatched. If you raise the chicks up in the 48 inch fencing you have a better chance of them being used to it and respecting it as a barrier. Two things to really watch out for, especially in young chicks, are splay leg and impaction. When they first hatch make sure they're on a firm surface that their feet can get a firm grip on. You don't want their legs wobbling around and the chicks slipping over. It can cause their leg to develop oddly and prognosis is bad. They also have a tendency to eat things they shouldn't, especially anything bright or reflective. Be certain they're pen is free of debris. I wouldn't move them outside into a pasture until they've gotten a strong start in a house or a warm barn, but make sure the starter pen has plenty of room so their legs can be properly exercised.