Keeping Emus~

[Allisha]

Yesterday we went to an emu farm in our state. We know them a little, as they go to our Church. We took a tour, and they allowed us to visit the emus, see their adults, chicks, and their incubator. We even went into one of the pen's for older emu chicks. They replied that they were doing a new thing because they wanted younger people, like myself, to get involved. They would give us a few emus, for free, for us to keep and raise for 14 months. And then, when they were old enough, we would split the things we would get in half.

We are interested in this, I think, and wanted to know how to keep emus. These people ha them in smaller pens, nothing large enough to keep a horse in(aside form an overly large stall).

What is the minimum amount of space these emus need?
What type of diseases should we look out for, especially between chickens and emus?
What was your experience in raising emus?
Should we go ahead and do it?
How would you build their pen, and how much would it cost?

 

[Joesmoe3]

Wow, timing is everything in life. I'm happy for you.

What state, just curious.

The Emu book basically says the emus can be kept anywhere, though at least should have a running lane to access as they do like to run.

Suggest you get the book if you're going to keep them. While the information on feed is dated (there is good reliable feed from Mazuri) it covers just about everything else.

http://www.amazon.com/Emu-Farmers-Handbook-Phillip-Minnaar/dp/0964374110

Pretty much everything else you hear is going to be hearsay -- we have a saying in beekeeping "Ask ten beekeepers a question and hear twelve opinions."

I would say in general, for a big-ish bird, emus are more easily handled than the other rattites.

Good luck, and have fun !