Need help with emu essentials

[briefvisit]

Morning, BYC.

[Sassybird and Shadow are here.]

I have been thinking about this for ages. The breeding-community is becoming aware of the need to exercise Those Little Legs. Well, in Swarbrick's Emu Husbandry Guidelines, hanging food -- like bunches of silverbeet -- up is mentioned. Swarbrick mentions it in respect of giving captive birds variety in their movement -- but I wonder about the overall strength of neck muscles, etc.

Guys, the wild chicks exercise unceasingly. It is exhausting just to watch. We were fortunate enough (Hey, Long-timers!!) to observe Alpha Chick and Omega Chick over a period of some months, and watched at length through binos, at close range.

['BOOM BOOM BOOM' -- 'Hey -- You!! Get away from my figs!!1]

Wild chicks live in a sort of Monster Food World, with food at head-height all about them. For nothing less than five or six hours a day, their neck muscles are in constant play with a remarkable 'stretch-twist-snatch back' movement.

I have seen Felicity on her knees for hours, scoffing hundreds of Little Yellow Flowers. Again, with her neck muscles in constant play. There is clearly an Olympic-standard of muscular strength in her neck.

Conversely, the captive birds spend perhaps just a quarter of an hour a day ingesting their food, and perhaps without that 'twist 'n' snatch back.'

???

se

 

[Di Warren]

is there a way to simulate this> do you think maybe if I hung chopped kale and different food in suspended little cages (we do this for our chickens using suet cages hanging from rope filled with halved apples, strawberries etc.) then this could get the little fella to work a bit for their food/treats? I could hang several different vegetables in different areas of his/her brooder perhaps. For our chickens we hang all sorts of 'challenging' treats around their encampment (hollowed apples filled with peanutbutter, chicken kongs with seeds, suet cages with fresh veggies, I hang heads of lettuce from a net that I knitted out of coconut fibre that they love...it ends up swinging about like crazy when a few get on it.)

 

[briefvisit]

Hey, Di!! I don't pretend to know the answer -- the fun is that we work it out together. You sure seem to be on the right track.

Swarbrick's example is good: the complete stalks of silverbeet* are hung up on a fence, and the 'safari-park' emus have to reach up to strip the green leaves from the stalk.

I think the bottom line here is the notion that -- and we understand this in respect of little leggies -- that The Use of Muscles = Healthier Little Emus.

Guys, you should see flocks of wild birds 'busted' by the presence of Clumsy Observer Guy! I have seen a flock take to its heels, and disappear 800 yards later without slackening the pace at all.

So, I found myself comparing the amount of exercise in pet chick's lives to that of a wild chick's.

For example, Di, we have a bit of data from Alpha and Omega Chicks. I fed them at dawn. Then, a while later, I saw them away from the house while I was off to observe. When I got back, they passed through the house-clearing on the way to . . . somewhere else. Now, that was all before 10:30 a.m., and those chicks -- about 10-inches high at the time -- had walked approximately 13 or 14 hundred yards, some of it through gum litter almost as tall as they were.

se






* I recall someone in the US asked what 'silverbeet' was. It's a variety of spinach, I think, up to two feet long, with an ivory-coloured stem, and deep-green leaves. It's highly nutritious. Granma makes you eat it. Kids hate it.

 

[Di Warren]

"Granma makes you eat it. Kids hate it." LOL

Thank you so much for all of your info...and for the giggle.

I know the situation is not ideal, but im holding to the thought that this breeder seldom sells emu for pets. They are bred for meat, We are going to do our best to make him/her happy & healthy...and give him a chance at life.

I love trying to create a stimulating environment for all of our farm animal pets, and really, really appreciate your descriptions because I probably will never see wild emu in their natural habitat. Thanks!

 

[Haida]

This is all great!! I think I have some empty suet feeders that I could use! I will definitely hang them up for my little girlies! I want them to be as healthy as they can be, you know? Thanks for the ideas, you guys!!!

The first time I saw them grab something hanging and yank, it was terrifying. They saw the drawstring to my jacket's hood dangling while I was bending over getting their food dish and they made a beeline for me. I forget who grabbed first, but the power they had was incredible! This was still when they were really small, too!!! I was worried she'd hurt herself, but judging by this conversation, she knew exactly what she was doing, lol. I hope they don't go for my drawstrings when they're bigger, they'll probably carry me off somewhere.

(As a side thought, my standard bronze turkey hen goes after patterns on my PJ pants, she'll peck and grab the fabric. Let me tell you, a turkey's peck hurts! They have a hook on the end of their beak like a hawk! My bum just happens to be at her eye level, too, so guess what she goes after... I think I hear Benny Hill music as I'm running away from her, lol)

 

[Di Warren]

This is all great!! I think I have some empty suet feeders that I could use! I will definitely hang them up for my little girlies! I want them to be as healthy as they can be, you know? Thanks for the ideas, you guys!!!

The first time I saw them grab something hanging and yank, it was terrifying. They saw the drawstring to my jacket's hood dangling while I was bending over getting their food dish and they made a beeline for me. I forget who grabbed first, but the power they had was incredible! This was still when they were really small, too!!! I was worried she'd hurt herself, but judging by this conversation, she knew exactly what she was doing, lol. I hope they don't go for my drawstrings when they're bigger, they'll probably carry me off somewhere.

(As a side thought, my standard bronze turkey hen goes after patterns on my PJ pants, she'll peck and grab the fabric. Let me tell you, a turkey's peck hurts! They have a hook on the end of their beak like a hawk! My bum just happens to be at her eye level, too, so guess what she goes after... I think I hear Benny Hill music as I'm running away from her, lol)

LOL!!!