Ostrich Eggs

[29PalmsRanch]

Mine don't have auto turners so I turned them by hand. It's a big committment for emus as it takes almost two months. I never missed a turn......and it paid off. We just love these little guys. They're just a week old and there growing fast.

Awesome! Congrats!!! 42 days is what we invest for ostrich. I'm sure it's very similar to Emus. It's something when they pop out of that shell I've been looking for a Hatchrite incubator for some time now. And we found one in PRISTINE condition, still in the crate. Brand new, but over 15 years old, never used. It got delivered tonight from Kansas. The reason we wanted one is because they actually roll the egg instead of being in a tilting dolly with a turner motor assembly. As you know from your own ratites, the hens roll the eggs while they rest on their sides. The Hatchrite does the same thing. Now the company is out of business. They fell with the rest of the ostrich breeding industry a long while back. But their machines? They are still around. I'm REALLY excited to get this thing. I couldn't go back to sleep. I'm about to go crank it up.... Stay tuned lol )))

 

[KarenandDerek]

Congrats on the EMU's!! So cool! I'm actually thinking about drilling extra holes in the incubator so there is more ventilation..which would be easy with Little Giant, but not so easy with Reptipro 6000. I too will be dedicating my summer vacation to manually turning eggs.

 

[KarenandDerek]

Did you add any water?

 

[Kiril749]

Yes, to be honest I basically ran it between 96 and 97 degrees and just kept water in the reservoirs. I didn't weigh the eggs at all. I just hand turned them morning and night. I truly didn't think we'd have much luck but 3 out of 4 eggs isn't too shabby. Call it beginners luck, who knows but we're thrilled with the Emus. And our German Shepard has adopted them. All she does is lay down and let them crawl all over her......so cool!

 

[KarenandDerek]

I am so envious!! I can't wait to try again with Ostrich..probably mid-June..just gonna keeping taking in all the great advice and success stories and give it my very best!!

 

[ES Emus]

we started incubating an ostrich egg last night. If it hatches, we plan on raising it for a year, then getting rid of it before it starts to exhibit its unpredictable behavior!

 

[29PalmsRanch]

PM me when you are ready to sell. What kind is it?

 

[KarenandDerek]

What kind of incubator are you going to use?

 

[ES Emus]

What kind of incubator are you going to use?

You know, I don't know what brand of incubator it is, there is not a nameplate or a label on it anywhere. All I know is that it was made in the United Kingdom and the temperature settings are in Celsius! It has been a great emu egg incubator and we average about an 85% hatch rate with emu eggs. It is so temperature and humidity consistent that we have never ever gone to the trouble of even weighing an egg, we just set it, let it run a day to stabilize, then put the eggs in and turn them 3X a day. Heck, we don't even own a set of egg scales!

 

[ES Emus]

PM me when you are ready to sell. What kind is it?

Not sure what kind it is, I will know soon. I was talking to an ostrich farmer about what an ostrich egg would cost, including shipping and a few days later, an egg shows up at my post office!!! I am going to contact him and find out what I owe him and I will ask about the specie. I would contact him today but I have an adult rescued emu scheduled to be delivered tomorrow from PA and my last four chicks picked up for a buyer in NJ.