Need help with emu essentials

[Di Warren]

Hi everyone,

Our pet emus hatched and we will be picking them up next week. We live on a small island that is relatively isolated so I am trying to make a list of stuff that I should always have on hand.

Could you please help me by making suggestions on things to buy while i am on the mainland. (Food, wormers (brands etc.), immunizations (brands-how it is administered etc., medical and emergency stuff)

Thanks so much!
Dianna

 

[briefvisit]

Seeds!!

Hey, Di. You could try an experiment that we have talked about. If you can get vegies and grasses that are Yummy for Emus to grow 'ferally' in your pastures, you would increase their health, and reduce your food budget.

Silverbeet? clover? lettuce? Kale?

Anyone else have suggestions?

se

 

[Di Warren]

I loved that idea and just today ordered many seeds that I will frost seed into all the pastures next week.

We use ivomec injection (subcu) for our other animals...I have read that emu can take this orally. Has anyone heard of doing this? Should I inject it into grapes? or buy the ivomec paste for horses to use on the emu? Also, at what age do I start giving this?

Can you think of anything else I should have on-hand? The only way on or off our island is by ferry, so I am at mercy of their schedule, and it is a full day return trip to get to the closest city, so I like having as many "Emergency" supplies as I can on-hand.

Thanks!

 

[Haida]

My two little ones go crazy for fresh, finely chopped kale, collard greens and dandelions (I can't believe I bought food-grade dandelions from the supermarket for them... in spring, our yard is 99% dandelion... right now, it's just snow and mud!). But I hope someone responds about the wormer... I read they could have Wazine, but I don't know when to begin worming them... they're only 2 and a half weeks old. I do know they need a vaccine for Eastern Equine Encephalitis and plan on vaccinating them, but I don't know when or where to get it.

Also, I gave mine shiney cat toys... they're very curious about everything (more like a puppy) and I was worried they would get bored and hurt each other. They seem mesmerized by their own and each other's toes, and the cat toys seemed to have curb that interest. Just make sure they can't destroy the toy because they will try to eat anything they pull off of it... they try to eat everything! When I go and sit with them, I feel like my fashion sense is being scrutinized because they have to peck and grab every little fold, wrinkle, zipper, button on my clothes. And fingernails, they are drawn to them like a magnet (mine aren't even painted!).

And food. LOTS of food. LOTS of water. They will plop down in front of the waterer and drink and drink... though sometimes they just peck at it and kind of play in it, so the bedding all around the waterer has to be changed out often. I've been feeding mine chick starter and chicken layer crumbles (maybe about 3-4 cups combined, 50/50 mix, takes them all day to go through it) and I sprinkle a teaspoon of baker's yeast over the top every few days (you can find it in the pharmacy... it's very high in b-vitamins and stuff, good for people, too!). For the first week, I put Sav-A-Chick in their water... I figure any little boost they can get is good. I've read that they can have chicken layer crumbles mixed with rabbit pellets, so I'm thinking of swapping mine over to that when they're a little bit bigger.

As far as emergency stuff goes, I think they can have the same things that other fowl can have, so I really didn't buy anything that I didn't already have... in my "first aid box" I have self-sticking gauze, cotton balls, q-tips, Blu-Kote, rubbing alcohol, needles, non-pain relieving Neosporin, Tylan 50 (I think they can have this, but I am not 100% sure... this is mostly for my turkeys) and Poly-Vi-Sol (no iron added). I've read that they can have a lot of leg problems while they're growing, so I've made sure they can't come into any contact with slippery surfaces or things that can trip them. And they need a lot of room to run and play... I encourage mine to run around their brooder by offering treats from different sides of the box... and they do a lot of it themselves, they have these little "freakouts" when they get excited... they'll run, jump, throw their heads back, roll on their backs and just act overly silly... it is so adorable. Just make sure they have enough room to do so, so that they don't hurt themselves (they are completely oblivious to anything in their paths during this time, hahaha).

I hope this post was somewhat useful!

They're so much fun, though... how many are you getting?

 

[Di Warren]

Thank you so much for your detailed note! Your guys do sound like so much fun!

I have the supermarket here all ready to order in kale and dandelion (they do not typically stock it) on a regular basis. the breeder said that she is feeding the babies only chopped kale and grated carrots at the moment and doesn't start on emu food for awhile yet, so I figured I had better make sure we have leafy greens available for the little fellow.

We were planning on getting 2 originally as we wanted them as pets. We decided against 2 emu because we did not want them to fight once they reach sexual maturity. It was suggested however that we only get one because we really want it to integrate into the open farm area with our other animals. We have 3 alpaca, 2 babydoll southdowns, and 2 Nubian goats that all live together. We are hoping that those animals will become the emu's flock. All of our animals are our pets, and are spoiled silly.

Anyhow...thank you again for your suggestions, we are going to assemble a similar medical kit for our emu/chickens

Cheers,
Dianna

 

[Ellamumu]

Get the little emu a baby goose to sleep with, it worked well with my baby emu and they remained friends into adulthood.

 

[Haida]

Thank you so much for your detailed note! Your guys do sound like so much fun!

I have the supermarket here all ready to order in kale and dandelion (they do not typically stock it) on a regular basis. the breeder said that she is feeding the babies only chopped kale and grated carrots at the moment and doesn't start on emu food for awhile yet, so I figured I had better make sure we have leafy greens available for the little fellow.

We were planning on getting 2 originally as we wanted them as pets. We decided against 2 emu because we did not want them to fight once they reach sexual maturity. It was suggested however that we only get one because we really want it to integrate into the open farm area with our other animals. We have 3 alpaca, 2 babydoll southdowns, and 2 Nubian goats that all live together. We are hoping that those animals will become the emu's flock. All of our animals are our pets, and are spoiled silly.

Anyhow...thank you again for your suggestions, we are going to assemble a similar medical kit for our emu/chickens

Cheers,
Dianna

That's a good idea, I've heard they bond very easily to other animals! I didn't really know what to expect... my uncle in law wanted me to incubate some emu eggs for him (I'm not sure why, he isn't the 'animal caretaker type', if that makes sense) and he got two eggs... so if one hatched, we could find it a chicken friend if needed; if two hatched, well then great; if none hatched, then it wouldn't have been a huge waste of money. But, during the incubation process, I fell absolutely/hopelessly in love with them (especially when they started wiggling), so now they're "mine". They even come when I whistle to them!

I got the DNA results back last night, they're both girls! I was hoping for boys, honestly, lol, but I guess I need to start looking for a boyfriend for them! I do worry about fighting, too, so I may have to rehome one when the time comes. We'll see. Have you thought of a name for your little emu yet?

Your farm sounds lovely, by the way!

 

[Di Warren]

aww that is so great! It's so awesome that you are so in love with the little guys.

I'm terribly excited to get ours. We decided against DNA testing, and thought we would just wing it. We were hoping for a female so we could eventually have eggs, but after hearing that males generally make nicer pets it really doesn't matter too much which sex we get as long as it is healthy.

If you have any pics I would love to see them!

 

[Haida]

Hi there! My hubby and I felt the same way about DNA testing, but then we read/researched more about emu meat. We're looking for ways we can be self-sufficient, and (not to toot my own horn) I have a knack for birdies. We won't be processing my current two (unless something goes awry) but they'll be the start to my breeder flock. (Also, I hope this doesn't offend anyone, I know emus are kind of like pets, so I apologize.) We currently have chickens, turkeys and rabbits and we're looking to get goats someday... someday.

I had to go get some new pictures of them... they grow a little bit more everyday! Sorry for the low quality, my camera doesn't do so well with the heat lamp's color.

(Probably the best picture I took, lol) This is Jake. Or Jackie. I'm not sure if I'm going to rename them... I've been calling them by their names since I received the eggs.





They get so tired so easily. Irwin is on the left. Iriwn is kind of camera shy, lol. And by camera shy, I mean she's to busy trying to peck it to death for me to get a decent picture!

 

[EmuChemainusBC]

No need to worry about offending anyone here about seeking out a lifestyle of self sufficiency. I'm sure most members from the chicken community don't consider all their birds as pets. This is such a great forum for sharing husbandry knowledge and helping to ensure a respectful and healthy quality of life for all our feathered friends, no matter how long that life might be.