Pyxis' Emu Chat Thread

[briefvisit]

'I've got a big apple tree that extends over the run and drops apples, but I might look into some other fruit trees too.'

Random Notes

Emus don't seem able to hold down a large piece of food -- like an apple -- with their foot while they tear at it.

They love stone fruit -- except peaches, which are too big to swallow whole. So, plums, apricots. Figs also. Grapes they love.

And it's not just a fresh-food thing. The foraging, the 'jerk-n-snatch,' is, I am convinced, an important part of physical development. Swarbrick suggests hanging bunches of greens for captive birds to tear at. It's common for me to hear adult emus -- tame and wild -- crashing enthusiastically around in the fig tree, and in the bush that supports the feral grape vine.

And . . . the presence of shrubs and trees contributes to defusing conflict. Less dominant birds want to be out of the line of sight of the dominant birds.

Here is a wild male -- Eric -- with his clutch (of 9), waiting for plums to to be knocked down by the parrots foraging overhead. [In my photos, you can always judge the age of the chicks by the season the photo is taken. These aren't second-year chicks. So, if they are eating plums, then it's early summer. Thus, they are about four months old.]

Finally: readers, dig the correlation between moisture and fresh food (and this applies to the kangaroos as well). Emu life in the wild pivots on water and food. Now, anywhere there is boggy ground or residual water of any other kind (like wetlands here in rothschildi territory), that is where the last bit of 'fresh pick' will be. And emus relish this. They will travel miles to get to it.

So the greenery that your pet emus will enjoy absolutely the most is that last little bit of green they can scavenge from near a water trough, or on the shady side of a building in late spring, or -- ??. It's at this time of year that you observe them shifting from 'cropping' -- the sideways tearing motion of the beak used to shear off mouthfuls of grass -- to pecking/jerk-n-snatch, which they begin using when the green grass is gone, and they start on the flowers and seeds.

[Wow! I haven't written notes in years!]

 

[aart]

So, plums, apricots.

Do they pass or grind(gizzards?) the stones?

 

[briefvisit]

Okay. Yes. This is a boring bit of my non-working-farm house-clearing, but the microcosm is perfect:

Firstly, the reason for the lush grass is that this is an old sheep-loading ramp -- sheep poo! One catches wild emus grazing on the little mound, where the grass is extra lush.

And the dip is a pond during spring and autumn rains. Emus bathe here.

And if you look really closely, you can see a bit of green in the shade of the aisle of gums behind -- what I said, those precious last mouthfuls of green grass.

And also in the dip you see lush grass. These few square yards will be literally the last bit of green grass some emus -- the ones who perish in bad seasons -- will ever eat.

 

[briefvisit]

'Do they pass or grind(gizzards?) the stones?'

They pass them, aart. And we have done extensive study of the relationship between diet and dominance.

[Guys, I got a half holiday today, which is why I am here writing. What fun!]

I once counted 122 apricot stones in a single poop left by Eric. That's a great diet. That's a great bird.

As you walk about the house-clearing here, or perhaps along a fence line or a dam in the bush, you can sometimes recognise an 'ex-poop' that is just the stones left after all the veggie-poop part has been washed away.
Here's one from just out in the house-clearing:

 

[biophiliac]

'Do they pass or grind(gizzards?) the stones?'

They pass them, aart. And we have done extensive study of the relationship between diet and dominance.

[Guys, I got a half holiday today, which is why I am here writing. What fun!]

I once counted 122 apricot stones in a single poop left by Eric. That's a great diet. That's a great bird.

As you walk about the house-clearing here, or perhaps along a fence line or a dam in the bush, you can sometimes recognise an 'ex-poop' that is just the stones left after all the veggie-poop part has been washed away.
Here's one from just out in the house-clearing:

That is so cool! Do you have anymore pics of emu poop?

 

[N F C]

That is so cool! Do you have anymore pics of emu poop?

Only on BYC

(Seriously, interesting stuff!)

 

[aart]

you can sometimes recognise an 'ex-poop' that is just the stones left after all the veggie-poop part has been washed away

See this with other animal scat...little piles of seeds/stones/bones.

 

[briefvisit]

'Do you have anymore pics of emu poop?'

Yes. In Mating Season in Australia and Planet Rothschildi.

Why?

Well -- assuming you're not just pulling my leg -- you can learn a great deal about the territorial movement of emus from what they leave behind: feathers where they cross fences, tracks where they drink at dams, tracks through the bush, roosts (which are mostly poops), and poops. Over years, we have posted photos of blessings. My favourite is the 'poop ring' that shows where a male and chicks roosted for a night.

SE

 

[perchie.girl]

Over years, we have posted photos of blessings. My favourite is the 'poop ring' that shows where a male and chicks roosted for a night.

There is alot to be told about the animal from examining the Scat. Health, by what they are eating and how much..

I live in the desert... food is hidden or scarce... My chicken will free range pretty far if I let them... So I keep them close by occasionally whacking on a bucket and hollering treat treat treat.... Youd be amazed where they come from out of the Brush. My guineas would fly from the big rocks OVER the house and into the fenced yard fussing at me all the way....

 

[biophiliac]

Well -- assuming you're not just pulling my leg --

Yes I am seriously curious. Like @perchie.girl says, you can learn a lot by examining scat. I never have, and never will have an opportunity to see emu poop in the wild.

I even started an album called Poopology. It contains this item as yet unidentified which I wonder if it might be Red tail hawk....

Now that you mention it, I believe I remember seeing the circle of poops, if you post it again may I include it in my album with credit to you?