New to Ostriches

[SnowPeeOstrichU]

Hi,
I'm new to this whole ostrich thing but curious about having one or two so they don't get lonely.. I have a few questions.

1. What do they eat and how much?
2. How often do they lay eggs and when will they stop
3. How friendly are they? To humans or other animals
4. How old do they get?
5. How easy are they to care for?
6. Do you need a very high fence?
7. How smart are they?

Thanks!

 

[Ray Petty]

• What do they eat and how much? Very similar digestive system as horses - I feed a recipe of alfalfa, minerals, and vitamins that I have milled by local feed mill. Cost about $1.25 per day to feed an adult ostrich. 4-5 lbs of feed per day.
• How often do they lay eggs and when will they stop, Here in North Texas, Ostrich lay starting around March and go thru Sept. Can lay one egg every other day. They start laying at age 2-3 years and can be productive for 20-30 years
• How friendly are they? To humans or other animals. Not at all. Can be very dangerous especially during breeding season. They are not pets! Their eyes are bigger than their brain.
• How old do they get? Can live to 70 years old.
• How easy are they to care for? Care is pretty simple. Feed and water..worm once year.. Their immune system is very good. They were around back in the dinosaur days!
• Do you need a very high fence? At least 5 foot
• How smart are they? Dumber than a rock...

 

[briefvisit]

Higher than 5 feet

 

[xxnativewolfxx]

i have emus.....but i have been wanting ostriches for awhile now but im lucky i got a hold of emus! lol but from what i have researched and talked to people.since its HARD to find info on google believe it or not. from what i understand ostriches are dumb as stumps...but yet can be one of those so dumb there smart kind of deals.....the fence from what i understand should be highter than 5 feet to 6 or higher but ive been told in there younger days they can tumble a fence like an emu..but after they grow up its not common since they get so big and heavy....so i mean 5 foot fence and raise it a foot of the ground should work aslong as the T posts are set deep and sturdy! or wooden ones!... they make a ostich feed but i think you can just get by with horse feed, alphalfa pellets, corn ect since there grazers and seed eaters in the wild.... i know there HARDY with the weather but i dont think there AS hardy in the cold like emus are....so a three sided shelter will due but one of those that the opening is on the side instead of in the middle so they can really get out of the wind. or a open floored barn works great! .....as for how nice they are? lol ya right now there are i think 3 different kinds of ostrich! 2 are alot friendlier than the other i THINK! i know one breed is above all the most aggressive. out of the rhea, ostrich and emu.....the emus make the BEST livestock with aggression wise, rheas and ostriches can be really ...testy but id be most afraid of the ostrich im 6 foot 1......my emus are about as tall as me streched out......HOWEVER ostriches will be the height when just standing NORMAL! lol some can get 8 feet standing straight! have that coming at me! ha i need a LARGE stick!

 

[Transform987]

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• What do they eat and how much? Very similar digestive system as horses - I feed a recipe of alfalfa, minerals, and vitamins that I have milled by local feed mill. Cost about $1.25 per day to feed an adult ostrich. 4-5 lbs of feed per day.[/COLOR]
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• How often do they lay eggs and when will they stop, Here in North Texas, Ostrich lay starting around March and go thru Sept. Can lay one egg every other day. They start laying at age 2-3 years and can be productive for 20-30 years[/COLOR]
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• How friendly are they? To humans or other animals. Not at all. Can be very dangerous especially during breeding season. They are not pets! Their eyes are bigger than their brain.[/COLOR]
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• How old do they get? Can live to 70 years old.[/COLOR]
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• How easy are they to care for? Care is pretty simple. Feed and water..worm once year.. Their immune system is very good. They were around back in the dinosaur days![/COLOR]
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• Do you need a very high fence? At least 5 foot[/COLOR]
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• How smart are they? Dumber than a rock...[/COLOR]

They were not around with the dinosaurs birds did not evolve then

 

[xxnativewolfxx]

i dont think they meant that literally! Even though I can understand for education wise you shouldn't say things like that. but common lighten up lol.

 

[Transform987]

i dont think they meant that literally! Even though I can understand for education wise you shouldn't say things like that. but common lighten up lol. 

Hey just don't want false info

 

[Pyxis]

They were not around with the dinosaurs birds did not evolve then

Actually since you are trying to dispel misinformation I just wanted to point out that this is not technically true. Birds are thought to have evolved as early as 100 million years ago, which would mean they were alive with dinosaurs.

And most theropod dinosaurs, the ones that birds are thought to have evolved from, had feathers, probably even the large ones like tyrannosaurus rex.

But yes, modern ostriches and emus were most definitely not around with the dinosaurs, lol.

 

[Transform987]

Actually since you are trying to dispel misinformation I just wanted to point out that this is not technically true. Birds are thought to have evolved as early as 100 million years ago, which would mean they were alive with dinosaurs.

And most theropod dinosaurs, the ones that birds are thought to have evolved from, had feathers, probably even the large ones like tyrannosaurus rex.

But yes, modern emus were most definitely not around with the dinosaurs, lol.

I know dinosaurs evolved into birds I said that all I meant was that ostriches did not exist then

 

[Pyxis]

I know dinosaurs evolved into birds I said that all I meant was that ostriches did not exist then

Sorry, I didn't see where you said birds evolved into dinosaurs. Maybe it was in another thread? But I was just trying to say that birds were indeed alive when dinosaurs were and had evolved before dinosaurs went extinct. We are definitely in agreement that ostriches weren't alive at that time though