Looking for advice and guidance in hatching and raising Emus

[Tiny Farms and Brewing]

So I am looking to embark on a new chapter in hatching and raising Emus. I have done an abundance of reading and have learned the following:
1: Eggs need to be incubated at 97.5 degrees F.
2: Eggs hatch roughly 50-60 days once incubated.
3: Rattie birds require a special diet and feed and also have to avoid certain toxic plants.
4: They are social and calm animals especially when have been introduced and handled by humans from birth.
5: They require fencing roughly 5-6 foot high and roughly 400 sq feet per bird for ample exercise.
6: They are great livestock protectors.
My questions are these:
A: How long do chicks stay in a brooding box?
B: How many sq feet per chick is needed for the brooding box?
C: Is 800 sq feet acceptable for a breeding pair?
D: What enemies do emus have both natural and domestic?
E: Has anyone made an automatic egg turner suitable for Emus eggs?
F: Will emus (if introduced from birth) live and interact well with other live stock (Great Pyrs, Berkshire Pigs, Silkies, Ayam Cemanis, and Polish?
G: What alternative feeds will emus eat that are also a good supplement?
H: Ideal Shelter designs?
I: Ways to feed? (Tubs, bins, gravity feeders, on or off ground, placement)
J: What is the male to female ratio for breeding? Is it just pairs? or can I have a trio or more?
K: How long does Emu feed last? (does it expire? how long does 50lbs last per bird?)

If you have any other pointers, tricks or anecdotes to assist me would be more that welcomed!

Thanks Everyone!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

So cool that you are doing your research ahead of time!

I don't have any experience with emus... but have seen just HOW important it is to get the diet right. I would make sure you have the rattie food available or see how long it takes to get it in if your local feed store doesn't carry it in stock.

Sounds like your in for an awesome adventure!

 

[Tiny Farms and Brewing]

Thanks!
From my research it looks like I can buy right from the manufacturer or through a CoOp company for a decent price. But that is a good point to see how long it will take to arrive! Thanks for the thought!

 

[juliefpc]

HI Tiny Farms and Brewing and welcome to the Emu world! I don't have answers to all your questions but I will try my best:

A. A: How long do chicks stay in a brooding box? I leave mine in the large brooding box until feathers start to appear. Then I put them in their "play pen" which is a large 30' x 30' chain link pen so they can catch some sun and then back into their night pen (inside the barn) for the night. Mind you I have only done this with two chicks. More than two chicks would probably mean a pretty big brooding box. For the first 4 weeks their box was a really huge metal trough with shavings on the bottom and of course the heat lamp.

B. B: How many sq feet per chick is needed for the brooding box? My first brooding area is the trough and I would say its about 8 sq. ft. Probably larger than needed for two chicks but they sure like to exercise lol.

C. C: Is 800 sq feet acceptable for a breeding pair? Yes this would be okay for a breeding pair. They love to run throughout the day. My breeding pair is on two acres along with sheep which is more than enough.

D. What enemies do emus have both natural and domestic? Here in Central Florida, we have a real problem with coyotes. They don't respect electric fencing and even with a 6 foot fence, they still killed 3 of my sheep this past summer. The emus were out all night and for some reason, the coyotes left them alone but I'm thinking that was only pure luck or they were camouflaged in with a group of trees and were not noticed. They were adolescents then. An adult emu would probably not interest a coyote, but then again they might. They re pretty nasty when confronted though as adults and I hope the coyote wouldn't want to mess with them at that point.

E. Has anyone made an automatic egg turner suitable for Emus eggs? I am not sure about this, I hand turn mine. I'm retired so this works for me. I imagine some of the cabinet style incubators would offer a turning tray that could accommodate emu eggs.

F: Will emus (if introduced from birth) live and interact well with other live stock (Great Pyrs, Berkshire Pigs, Silkies, Ayam Cemanis, and Polish? My breeding pair team up with the sheep and even graze alongside them. They seem to like the neighbor's horses and goats next door. The female however does NOT like chickens. When the neighbor's chicken come on my side of the fence, she quickly charges at them and kicks them. They have learned to stay away finally.

G: What alternative feeds will emus eat that are also a good supplement? I feed a lot of fresh fruit, white bread, they love watermelon, grapes, pineapple. I ve tried pretty well every fruit and of course they only like the expensive stuff like grapes and kiwis. They didn't like apples, but my friends emus devour apples. They love cracked corn but take it easy on that, too much can cause quick weight gain. During the day I will throw a few cups of a mix of cracked corn, rabbit pellets (good protein), dog food kibbles - stuff they can scratch around and peck at during the day. Its a toss up who gets to it first, the sheep or the emus and I cant feed anything with copper in it in the paddocks since sheep cant have copper. The sheep get bored hunting around for kernels so the emus usually win out.

H: Ideal Shelter designs? I have two back to back lean to's in the paddocks which were quickly enclosed when the coyote problem happened. In the warm weather, they are locked up in one, the sheep in the other. In colder weather, or in the case of our recent hurricane Irma, they were housed in the barn. Each lean to is 12 x 12'.

I: Ways to feed? (Tubs, bins, gravity feeders, on or off ground, placement) The emus eat out of a giant rubber feed tub in their night pen. During the day, I just throw everything straight out into the paddocks to give them something to scrounge for. I use a small water bucket for the breeding pair as I replace the water everyday for the troughs and pen water buckets. The auto waterer in the paddock doesn't sit well with the emus for some reason. They tried getting into it to take a bath but it was too tall, so I bought them a few kiddy pools. They love to play in them in the summer as it gets in the upper 90s here.

J: What is the male to female ratio for breeding? Is it just pairs? or can I have a trio or more? I'm going to leave that question for the experts as I only have one breeding pair.

K: How long does Emu feed last? (does it expire? how long does 50lbs last per bird?) I put 50 lb feed bags into large plastic bins with tight lids as feed in FL is a main attraction for mice, rats and cockroaches. I find it stays fresher this way. I would estimate a 50 lb bag would last you well over a month, possibly two months depending on how you feed. A lot of my feed gets wasted around breeding season as they just aren't as hungry (starting around September to October).

Hope this helps but I am still learning too, I compare notes with other breeders in my area and everyone has their own way to doing things. Overall, I find the Emu very adaptable to just about any situation. They re intelligent, personable and just so much fun to watch. Mine are very nosy. I live in a rural area, but still get people walking down the road with dogs, horses, etc. The emus are the first ones to run to the front fence to check everything out. Good luck!

 

[shelby hayden]

Hi,
I am new to emu egg incubation i have 3 so far and will have more coming soon. My question is at what time can you feel the baby move inside the egg I am on day 11 with my first and day 2 with my 2 others.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

It's so strange emu's are hatched. I keep forgetting they're birds!

 

[Tiny Farms and Brewing]

juliefpc Thank you so much for all the great info! And Shelby from what I have read you have a ways to go with movement. The best way to determine life is by weighing them weekly from what I have read. I am also new to this so I may be wrong.

 

[shelby hayden]

Lol I know so big out of a little egg. I love them though even though alot of people give them a bad name I have learnt that if you treat them like family from day one even breeding season is not a problem.

 

[shelby hayden]

I weigh mine daily and that is just to insure that they will have a good hatch you never want below 14% or higher then 17% as the baby can drownd or dehydrate.

 

[shelby hayden]

But good weight loss still dosent mean there is life. So I'm curious as to when you can feel that little movement or maybe even see a wiggle. I have heard you can take them out and let them cool for a minute and if the bottom where the air cell is not at is still warm there is a baby. But I still don't deffenitly know that is true.