Mundy Growth/General Emu Chat Thread

[briefvisit]

It's part of Dawn Dancing (sometimes called 'Spazzy Dancing'), which you'll find discussed across the threads here.

So, mostly at dawn. Moreso with chicks. Comprises a range of 'classical moves,' including spin in circle, 'breast-to-ground-jump-up,' crazy motions of the neck and head, and completely crazy running about.

Post 68 here -- https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tooshtoosh-has-brought-his-chicks.1424081/page-7 -- is (I love saying this) really really rare footage: wild emu chicks dancing.

EDIT: I can only apologise: my Net is so bad -- 'cause I live so far out in the bush -- and I don't know if the two or three clips of the chicks dancing are still available.

 

[ryneaeiel]

It's part of Dawn Dancing (sometimes called 'Spazzy Dancing'), which you'll find discussed across the threads here.

So, mostly at dawn. Moreso with chicks. Comprises a range of 'classical moves,' including spin in circle, 'breast-to-ground-jump-up,' crazy motions of the neck and head, and completely crazy running about.

Post 68 here -- https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tooshtoosh-has-brought-his-chicks.1424081/page-7 -- is (I love saying this) really really rare footage: wild emu chicks dancing.

Ah! That's exactly what he does! Currently he'll do it multiple times throughout the day, whenever he gets excited. Let outside? Check. Playing with the cats? Check. Chasing a toy? Check. Sometimes he'll just do it out of the blue, which is honestly the funniest part -- one minute he'll be eating and the next he's running circles and jumping around like a little maniac, haha!

 

[briefvisit]

 

[briefvisit]

In the first seconds you see a classic breast-to-ground-jump-up

 

[briefvisit]

 

[briefvisit]

Back to work, me.

But there are, over the 13 years of the project here, some lovely snippets that I treasure. And one was:

I was walking at absolute first light, and saw, about thirty yards away, a lone adult emu pirouetting wildly in the fog just for the fun of being an emu on a fine foggy morning.

 

[ryneaeiel]

Back to work, me.

But there are, over the 13 years of the project here, some lovely snippets that I treasure. And one was:

I was walking at absolute first light, and saw, about thirty yards away, a lone adult emu pirouetting wildly in the fog just for the fun of being an emu on a fine foggy morning.

It's adorable! He'll frequently do that little flop where it's like he passes out and collapses on the ground, then waits a few seconds before jumping to his feet and running around excitedly. It worried me the first few times because I thought one of his feet was messed up and he was collapsing in pain, but then I realized it was just part of his little "ritual."

 

[ryneaeiel]

Update time!

Mundy is going to be 2 months old in a week! I'm currently working on training him, which is going about as well as you'd expect from an emu. The harness training, however...

The step-in harnesses were absolutely a no-go; while he didn't mind me putting it over his head for him to get used to the weight of it, he absolutely threw a fit every time I tried to get him to step into it. I'd seen it used in another thread, so I hoped I could make it work. I tried different colors, from red to blue (his favorite,) to brown, black, white, etc. Every one ended up returned because he was downright terrified of them. Since there was no way I was going to get him to step into one, I had to find a different harness that would buckle in the back so I could simply slide it on and fasten it into place.

Finally, I found this one and it worked like a charm! No crying or fighting, he just simply stands there and lets me put it on. He's been on two "walks" now and absolutely loves it.

Now as far as the other training goes, I think I'm going to need a little help here. He's pretty good with going to the bathroom where he's supposed to. My current goals are to teach him "no" and "down."

"No" would be great for when he's trying to eat something he shouldn't, or if he's about to go for an eye. "Down" would be great for the vet, or for putting him to bed at night.

He's pretty good with "down" already, but hasn't learned the vocal cue yet. Currently I have to rest my hand on his back and gently push, and he'll take the cue and plop down.

Mainly, I'm trying to figure out treats for him. Mundy is arguably the most picky out of all my animals. I've tried grape slices, strawberries, blueberries, superworms, etc. The only thing he'll eat outside of his normal food is spinach, ONLY SPINACH -- and I can't exactly use that as a rewarding treat for listening to commands because it needs to be refrigerated (meaning that if he obeys a command, I have to go to the fridge and get out a piece and at that point, I'm pretty sure his attention span would have completely forgotten why he's being rewarded.)

What do you all use as "treats" for your ratites? Preferably something that can be kept in a container so I can have it ready when needed without it spoiling.

 

[briefvisit]

'What do you all use as "treats" for your ratites?'

Wild emooz luuurv all types of stone fruit, fresh and dried: apricots, plums, peaches. Do U.S. folks not use the word 'sultanas' -- dried grapes (and currants). They love sultanas (available in bulk from ??).

Not citrus.

Grapes, chopped apple.

Nuts. Pasta.

I'm astonished that Mundy won't eat grape slices or berries. (Look up Lilly Pillies. They love lilly pillies.) He is wise to gobble up that spinach.

Supreme Emu

 

[ryneaeiel]

'What do you all use as "treats" for your ratites?'

Wild emooz luuurv all types of stone fruit, fresh and dried: apricots, plums, peaches. Do U.S. folks not use the word 'sultanas' -- dried grapes (and currants). They love sultanas (available in bulk from ??).

Not citrus.

Grapes, chopped apple.

Nuts. Pasta.

I'm astonished that Mundy won't eat grape slices or berries. (Look up Lilly Pillies. They love lilly pillies.) He is wise to gobble up that spinach.

Supreme Emu

I actually never thought of those!

In the US we don't use the term "sultana" much -- instead we refer to them as "golden" raisins (compared to regular purple raisins.) Are regular raisins alright too, or just sultanas and currants? (I understand that abroad, sultanas are differentiated from raisins by the type of grape and the processing method?)

I haven't been able to find lilly pillies for sale anywhere, so I've been thinking about actually getting a few plants. Do they prefer the common lilly pilly, or other varieties as well? (Blue lilly pilly?)