Selling Emu hatching eggs for incubation, chance for blonde

[MillersFarm]

@gimmie birdies I'd imagine an emu egg would be a bit too much for geese to incubate.. My broody geese would intentionally go for a swim only to dampen her feathers and sit right back on their eggs, I feel like that would affect the incubation process and lower the chances of actually hatching quite a bit..

@Kalifornsky Thank you kindly~ i'll probably pm you with a few questions later..

 

[Kalifornsky]

@gimmie birdies It takes around 50-56 days to hatch, and a regular chicken incubator can do the job. You just have to be sure the emu eggs can fit inside- they're fairly large, on average 13cm x 9cm. If you have the humidity/temperature settings just a little off, the hatch may take longer or it could kill the embryo. I really don't recommend using a goose to hatch the egg. Like Millers says, it might not have the right instincts to hatch an emu egg. It's best to hatch the eggs by hand with a properly sized incubator- there's a lot of guides online with the specifics to raise your odds for a successful hatch!

@MillersFarm My pleasure! I'm happy to help.

 

[gimmie birdies]

Neat!

 

[Ribh]

 

[m1chelle1]

OMG! Thanks for the post! I'm in the process of finding a piece of property where i can start my farm and Emus are definitely something that I am interested in, ill save your information for sure. I've been reading up on Emus a lot recently, and have a few questions. Do you have any livestock protection animals? Or do the emus do a good job of protecting themselves? I've read they do. So, (sorry for the long paragraph) , but I've been looking into getting a llama as a livestock guardian llama for my flocks of chickens and turkeys- because llamas "can" bond with any flock animals. I've also read that geese do well, but id be more concerned about geese not being able to fend off coyotes, which are my major concern. Do you know if an Emu would bond with a flock of chickens? < thats my Main question i was getting at btw
Thank you so much!
Michelle

 

[MissChick@dee]

Okay not to sound stupid...but I am when it comes to Emu’s. What do you keep them for ???
Love the looks of the
Bird!! Love the
Beautiful eggs!!
Are they just pets??

 

[Kalifornsky]

@m1chelle1 Hey, I'm glad you like the post! Emus are the most vulnerable while they're still growing up, but as adults they're likely too big for a wild predator to bother with. We have a fence that keeps out the coyotes and keeps the emus in. However, bobcats can still sneak through and one killed a young emu (four months old?) years ago when we were first starting out. If your area has mountain lions, that would be an issue even for adults. If you're planning on keeping young emus outside, be sure their enclosure is bobcat/coyote-proof. You should also have a tall, sturdy enclosure for the emus: they've been known to jump fences!

In my experience, llamas and alpacas were not efficient guardians for livestock. We had five geese, and when the two females went to nest they were killed off by bobcats even while alpacas and one llama were in the enclosure. The male geese are still doing fine today: they're not sitting ducks like the females were. They're aggressive and can take care of themselves, but again I'm not sure about them protecting other livestock.

On chickens and emus, they get along fine for the most part, but be aware that emus vary in personality. I have a rambunctious emu who takes joy in chasing the chickens and guineas around, and on another occasion an emu accidentally stepped on a peacock which caused the peacock to limp for months. It's not necessarily "bonding" so much as the chickens skedaddling when an emu runs through.

@MissChick@dee Not stupid at all, it's a common question! They're kept as pets, and many of the emus are very affectionate and allow you to pet/hug them. They're highly curious, goofy, and a joy to have around. Raising them from the egg to adult was a rewarding experience I wouldn't trade away!

 

[MissChick@dee]

Cool...do they act as any type of protection for your chickens? Do you ever eat the eggs?
I just think they are adorable!

 

[Kalifornsky]

The best emus do for chickens is to avoid stepping on them. Most dangers come out at night, and at that time the chickens are locked up. I haven't seen emus chasing off predators or anything like that, but that does occur in the wild in Australia. Some of my emus act with hostility or fear towards dogs, especially if they've quarreled in the past (emus hold grudges). Otherwise emus will peck or chase out of curiosity/fun, and that includes occasionally going after chickens or other small birds.

I have an emu who hunts around the property for duck eggs. He loves them.

 

[m1chelle1]

@m1chelle1 Hey, I'm glad you like the post! Emus are the most vulnerable while they're still growing up, but as adults they're likely too big for a wild predator to bother with. We have a fence that keeps out the coyotes and keeps the emus in. However, bobcats can still sneak through and one killed a young emu (four months old?) years ago when we were first starting out. If your area has mountain lions, that would be an issue even for adults. If you're planning on keeping young emus outside, be sure their enclosure is bobcat/coyote-proof. You should also have a tall, sturdy enclosure for the emus: they've been known to jump fences!

In my experience, llamas and alpacas were not efficient guardians for livestock. We had five geese, and when the two females went to nest they were killed off by bobcats even while alpacas and one llama were in the enclosure. The male geese are still doing fine today: they're not sitting ducks like the females were. They're aggressive and can take care of themselves, but again I'm not sure about them protecting other livestock.

On chickens and emus, they get along fine for the most part, but be aware that emus vary in personality. I have a rambunctious emu who takes joy in chasing the chickens and guineas around, and on another occasion an emu accidentally stepped on a peacock which caused the peacock to limp for months. It's not necessarily "bonding" so much as the chickens skedaddling when an emu runs through.

@MissChick@dee Not stupid at all, it's a common question! They're kept as pets, and many of the emus are very affectionate and allow you to pet/hug them. They're highly curious, goofy, and a joy to have around. Raising them from the egg to adult was a rewarding experience I wouldn't trade away!

Wow!! Thanks so much for the response. Thats good info, right there.
I'm feeling i should purchase a book and read up on these wonderful creatures. Guess ill have to wait until i get done with my readings on angora rabbits!
thanks again