questions about raising emus

[i like emus]

hi im going to get a emu either this summer or next i some questions. when its a baby can it sleep in a warm barn or should it sleep inside my house im okay eaither way. i can order some baby emu feed on line but is there some othere things that would be good for them plz tell me. im going to raise it from egg so is there any incubators you would recomend. how tall should the fence be in winter i get about a foot or two of snow and how big should the area be.will it be amedantly that i can tell if its a boy or a girl will the bulls eye or tree thing show up emedently or will it take a while. thanks

 

[juliefpc]

Hi I Like Emus, welcome to the Emu section. Baby Emus need to be kept warm with a heat lamp. I would treat them the same way as a regular chick, reduce the temp in their brooder box by 5 degrees F each week for at least a month. I am not sure where you live. I am fortunate here in FL but this past week has been trial and error but one of our MI emu fanciers was very helpful this week. We do not get much in the way of cold weather here, this past week, every night has had an average temp of 28 degrees F. Scared me to death, but the adult emus are very hardy and actually seemed to enjoy it! Well, at least more than I did lol. I would use a good NON MEDICATED chick starter feed for baby emus. Then progress to a balanced diet which can include fruit of their choice. I free feed bread throughout the day to my adolescents and adults along with water melon, all kinds of grapes and berries, and I throw in a raw egg here and there that I smash on the ground in the paddocks. Pineapple, kiwi, and bananas are also used depending on the season and the price. Ideal fencing should be 6 feet high according to the experts. Mine is a little over 4 feet but they never seem to be interested in leaving, probably cause I spoil them throughout the day with treats. I have a breeder friend who says as soon as an emu egg hatches, if the black circle on the top of their head is broken, its a female. I have never witnessed this myself, but his observation has been proven to be accurate 90% of the time. Other than this, you pretty well have to wait until they are at least 6 months old before attempting to sex them. Emus fencing area should be big enough that they can go for a good run for exercise. I'm on 10 acres so they pretty well run around wherever they want to but I have friends that have a breeding pair on less than an acre and they are quite happy. Other friends have a few older adults on about half an acre and again, they re quite happy. They no longer breed as they're around 20 or 22 years old but are quite happy as they still have room to roam and stretch their legs for a good run. I also throw out all kinds of feed on the ground for them to peck at, rabbit pellets, cracked corn, dog food, etc. Also, keep an eye on your protein level for baby emus and growing emus. Too much or too little can affect their growing and also cause splayed eggs. There are many opinions on this, but I think sticking around 20% protein for a growing emu is the good way to go. Everyone has their own way of doing things, but this is what works for me. Hope this helps. Please don't hesitate to ask more questions, there are a lot of helpful emu fanciers on here.

 

[briefvisit]

Lots and lots of greens and exercise

 

[april3760]

Just got 2 baby Emu's (2 weeks old), our 2.5 acre property is fully fenced in. At what age is it "safe" to let them be free range? They are currently on our lanai. We live in South Florida and the main predator in our area would be raccoons, hawks, eagles, etc.