help a new emu owner please!

drspastic

Hatching
May 24, 2020
3
0
7
so i have a farm in eastern europe and wanted to try emus. i bought 6 eggs at a UK farm with plenty of breeding pairs. took them back on the planr just as lockdown came into effect so i had plenty of time to pay attention to the incubation. out of 6, 5 hatched fine, one needed help because that egg didnt lose enough water. shell was smoother than usual.
that weak chick died after about a week i found huge retained yolk inside.
all the rest were healthy and active and after a few days were eating and drinking, the weather turned really nice so they even went out in the garden for a few hours in a long rabbitwire run. all great.
then a couple of days later one smaller chick started getting lethargic, sitting on his haunches wobbling and sleeping. was advised to put tetracycline in the water, seemed to be drinking it as were the others. i measure the water and they drink a lot. he gets worse, seems cold so he goes under the heat lamp again. later he died, autopsy found small heavily veined yolk sac (assume that means nutrients were being adsorbed from it)
the rest were fine running around very alert and active, eating well: cabbage, puppy biscuits, chick starter, carrots, etc all chopped finely in the blender.
yesterday i left them in the garden again while i did some chores and on returning i found one of the biggest and most active also sitting looking very tired, going the same way as the rest.
another keeper suggested they are getting too much food so i put them back inside and removed the food (was available 24h before).
today i put the feeder in for a few minutes and the sleepy one woke up and got some chicken starter, so seems hungry.
i was suggested to get some metronidazole from the vet monday and feed it with some dextrose/honey water by syringe.
i have read on forums this exact scenario of sleepy sickness playing out badly but never any solution, detailed reasoning or conclusions, etc.
maybe some of the more experienced ratite owners/breeders can help make this the final and stickied thread on the topic, or link to a page with all the answers!
 
btw, all their feet/legs are fine. the poorly one is drinking medicated water from the feeder.
it does have a cracked beak from a few days back. its around the top section and i think it got it stuck in the fence or something. there was a little bead of blood then that soon dried up. it was not showing distress or anything and was still eating so im sure its unrelated.
 
so i have a farm in eastern europe and wanted to try emus. i bought 6 eggs at a UK farm with plenty of breeding pairs. took them back on the planr just as lockdown came into effect so i had plenty of time to pay attention to the incubation. out of 6, 5 hatched fine, one needed help because that egg didnt lose enough water. shell was smoother than usual.
that weak chick died after about a week i found huge retained yolk inside.
all the rest were healthy and active and after a few days were eating and drinking, the weather turned really nice so they even went out in the garden for a few hours in a long rabbitwire run. all great.
then a couple of days later one smaller chick started getting lethargic, sitting on his haunches wobbling and sleeping. was advised to put tetracycline in the water, seemed to be drinking it as were the others. i measure the water and they drink a lot. he gets worse, seems cold so he goes under the heat lamp again. later he died, autopsy found small heavily veined yolk sac (assume that means nutrients were being adsorbed from it)
the rest were fine running around very alert and active, eating well: cabbage, puppy biscuits, chick starter, carrots, etc all chopped finely in the blender.
yesterday i left them in the garden again while i did some chores and on returning i found one of the biggest and most active also sitting looking very tired, going the same way as the rest.
another keeper suggested they are getting too much food so i put them back inside and removed the food (was available 24h before).
today i put the feeder in for a few minutes and the sleepy one woke up and got some chicken starter, so seems hungry.
i was suggested to get some metronidazole from the vet monday and feed it with some dextrose/honey water by syringe.
i have read on forums this exact scenario of sleepy sickness playing out badly but never any solution, detailed reasoning or conclusions, etc.
maybe some of the more experienced ratite owners/breeders can help make this the final and stickied thread on the topic, or link to a page with all the answers!
Mine was an adult when I got him so unfortunately no advice but wondering if you figured it out?
Mine was an adult when I got him so unfortunately no advice but wondering if you figured it out?
 
I am really astonished..poor babies, when you bought the eggs, how many females did they have? Emus don't over eat, never, but is it possible they are from related stock ? Years before my emus, I bought some polish bantams eggs and experience similar to yours, I then realised this woman bought a hen with her new hatch from an auction, she was bragging about and then sold some eggs from this lot, I got 8 , all hatched, but 1 by one I lost them similar to what you experienced, NO vet or medicine would help, RELATED stock.
Lesson was learned when I started with my Emus, bought 6 eggs from an emu breeder, who had 6 females, 3 hatched, 3 not fertile. Then had to wait to find out what sex, found out almost a year later 2 boys, aww so had to separate the boys, bought more eggs from other breeders, 3rd time lucky, 4 hatched and by then I found out how to sex them , even eggs before incubating , sold the babies and kept a girl for my lone boy, to make 2 unrelated pairs, now 13 years old and very happy. Also I had eggs to sell from unrelated stock, but not sold for some years, as most were not suitable to have any. Time wasters.
Calla.
 
Hi How are they now ? Poor thing...Fence should only be 2 x 2 inches or 10 x 10 cm.strong weld mesh, so heads can't get through, too many accidents happen because of improper fences, pallets etc on muddy areas.
Calla.
btw, all their feet/legs are fine. the poorly one is drinking medicated water from the feeder.
it does have a cracked beak from a few days back. its around the top section and i think it got it stuck in the fence or something. there was a little bead of blood then that soon dried up. it was not showing distress or anything and was still eating so im sure its unrelated.
 
Last edited:

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom