Ostriches, Emus, Cassowaries, Rheas, and . . . Kiwis!

[Supreme Emu]

Found this on the Net, readers.

‘Aepyornis, the 'elephant bird' of Madagascar was the largest bird ever known. Although shorter than the tallest moa, a large one could weigh 450 kilograms. There were two species when humans arrived from Borneo and Africa, probably in the 1st Century AD. Both seem to have survived for a time: the smaller Aepyornis mullerornis probably disappearing first, the giant Aepyornis maximus may have existed until as late as 1600.’

So, I’ll hear no more complaints about food or vet’s bills. Aepyornis
Maximus weighed over THREE times what an ostrich does. No height is given in the article – guesses anyone?

And we’ll have to get on the moderator’s case, and have this section renamed: ‘Ostriches, Emus, Cassowaries, Rheas, and Kiwis.’ HAS a kiwi owner ever turned up on BYC?

Supreme Emu

 

[texascowboy1979]

Quote:
That would be cool!

 

[zazouse]

I believe there is someone on BYC that has a kiwi bird ,seems like i read about it and i think their avatar is a kiwi also.

 

[casuarius]

There arent any Kiwi's in private hands, and if im correct, there are only a handful of zoos in the US that has them. They are illegal to have, sell, or transport, and are extremely difficult to care for. I wanted some myself, and did the research.

 

[Blob Chicken]

Nope ,no one at all has a Kiwi.

There are zero in private hands of anyone in the U.S. as far as anyone is concerned.


Also I hate to sound like a huge arse ,but adding such a section on keeping for such a rare ,advanced keeping bird to the forum is rather insulting. 95% of people know little more of bird care outside of domestic fowl ,and some not even to that extent ,however some seem to like acting like they do know something about wildfowl.

Sorry ,its a topic that I`m very...passionate over.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
FWIW:

http://www.boneclones.com/sc-241.htm

Elephant bird Stats:
Hight: 10 feet
Weight: 1000 lbs or thereabouts

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_bird

 

[Doc_Joe]

There arent any Kiwi's in private hands, and if im correct, there are only a handful of zoos in the US that has them. They are illegal to have, sell, or transport, and are extremely difficult to care for. I wanted some myself, and did the research.

Resurrecting an old post, but Cassowarys are indeed kept by private individuals. In fact an owner/keeper was killed by his cassowary not long ago (https://qz.com/1595147/a-cassowary-bird-killed-a-man-in-florida/). These are beautiful, but flighty birds with a huge built in dagger of which they are not afraid to use. They can also run 30 miles per hour and jump 7 feet, so you won’t get away. Luckily, they will usually back away as they are weary of people and they will warn with hisses and vocal calls. Now if you upset them when they are broody, all bets are off, they may kill you just for being in proximity to them. The Cassowary is perhaps the closest bird to a dinosaur or more specifically velociraptor that we have got. I am not against responsible private ownership of any exotic, however I’m all for regulation of such ownership, including mandatory contact hours or education, proper enclosure, annual inspections, dietary, veterinary and enrichment plans being approved of ahead of time. It may very well be private owners who save some species from extinction. You’d be surprised what is legal to own in the United States. Depending upon where you live, you can own monkeys, chimpanzees, tigers, lions, wolves, venomous snakes and even cassowaries. I’ve owned several exotics including a wolf hybrid I shared 13 years of my life with and three monkeys I took on as rehomes. One was abused, one was neglected and one was well cared for, but her keeper got cancer and eventually died. They reached out to me when he had to live in a long term hospital. I’ve worked in a zoo and two parks, hold multiple biological degrees and experience with exotics. I’ll always take in an exotic in need.....I prefer to take in the ones needing homes after their owner realizes they bit off more than they can chew, rather than buy from a breeder. I feel as though I’m howl ping fix a problem rather than creating one. I will be honest though, I’d be a little concerned about taking in a cassowary or two. Only if I had funding for a superb enclosure on my farm would I even consider it. They would be pretty difficult to keep. If anyone truly decides to get a cassowary, I would strongly advise them to already have a biological or zoological degree or take a minimum or two years zoology and more importantly for them to go volunteer or work for a zoo or facility that has them first. Read on them, learn able you can. Make sure your enclosure is double what you think you need. Find a source for their dietary needs, find a qualified veterinarian who will care for your bird. I have to drive over an hour for a good primate vet. These are the things you must do to be responsible. Don’t just buy a hatching egg or chick and cowboy/cowgirl it up. Best of luck to any and all who attempt such a challenging and beautiful bird.

Edit, post after fact,

I was reading a post on cassowaries and then somehow got here to kiwis. Yes, Kiwis are even more rare. I don’t personally know of any private individuals with a Kiwi, not to say there is not. I believe theee are only something like 22 in zoos in the states. The fact there are so few would lead me to believe there may not be any. https://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2011/09/kiwi-chicks-hatch-.html

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Resurrecting an old post, but Cassowarys are indeed kept by private individuals. In fact an owner/keeper was killed by his cassowary not long ago (https://qz.com/1595147/a-cassowary-bird-killed-a-man-in-florida/). These are beautiful, but flighty birds with a huge built in dagger of which they are not afraid to use. They can also run 30 miles per hour and jump 7 feet, so you won’t get away. Luckily, they will usually back away as they are weary of people and they will warn with hisses and vocal calls. Now if you upset them when they are broody, all bets are off, they may kill you just for being in proximity to them. The Cassowary is perhaps the closest bird to a dinosaur or more specifically velociraptor that we have got. I am not against responsible private ownership of any exotic, however I’m all for regulation of such ownership, including mandatory contact hours or education, proper enclosure, annual inspections, dietary, veterinary and enrichment plans being approved of ahead of time. It may very well be private owners who save some species from extinction. You’d be surprised what is legal to own in the United States. Depending upon where you live, you can own monkeys, chimpanzees, tigers, lions, wolves, venomous snakes and even cassowaries. I’ve owned several exotics including a wolf hybrid I shared 13 years of my life with and three monkeys I took on as rehomes. One was abused, one was neglected and one was well cared for, but her keeper got cancer and eventually died. They reached out to me when he had to live in a long term hospital. I’ve worked in a zoo and two parks, hold multiple biological degrees and experience with exotics. I’ll always take in an exotic in need.....I prefer to take in the ones needing homes after their owner realizes they bit off more than they can chew, rather than buy from a breeder. I feel as though I’m howl ping fix a problem rather than creating one. I will be honest though, I’d be a little concerned about taking in a cassowary or two. Only if I had funding for a superb enclosure on my farm would I even consider it. They would be pretty difficult to keep. If anyone truly decides to get a cassowary, I would strongly advise them to already have a biological or zoological degree or take a minimum or two years zoology and more importantly for them to go volunteer or work for a zoo or facility that has them first. Read on them, learn able you can. Make sure your enclosure is double what you think you need. Find a source for their dietary needs, find a qualified veterinarian who will care for your bird. I have to drive over an hour for a good primate vet. These are the things you must do to be responsible. Don’t just buy a hatching egg or chick and cowboy/cowgirl it up. Best of luck to any and all who attempt such a challenging and beautiful bird.

Bit confused why you quoted a post about Kiwis being kept privately to argue Casawarries are kept privately

 

[Doc_Joe]

I fixed it. I was on a post about cassowaries and somehow got to this post about kiwis. I’m confused how it got there too. I corrected my post,

 

[JacinLarkwell]

ah, okay that makes way more sense