The life of Daryl the emu

[mich9510]

Hi! I am celebrating my first week as an emu mom. Your posts have been fun to read. I believe I have 2 girls and one boy. I bought them from a breeder up in Blackhawk, CO. They should be 3 weeks old roughly although Zoe might be 4 as she is considerably larger than Alana and Sheldon. Little Sheldon started flipping over and having seizures last Monday. It has been a rough week of feeding him thru a tube shoved down his throat. He also learned that if he bangs on the bathtub side in the middle of the night that mom runs in to get him and we sleep together on the couch for the rest of the night. Would you mind if I follow you and we share stories and info?

Glad to meet you.

 

[goldenseth]

After a few months experience caring for and hatching out chickens and ducks I have decided to try my hand with emus. My dream is to someday have an emu farm for meat, leather, and emu oil. I know there is very little money in emu farming (if any) but at this point in my life I just want to be happy and do what I want to do. The best way to start my endeavor is with hobby farming IMO so that's where we will start. Step #1 obtain hatching emu eggs. Through an internet search I found a ratite farm in New Mexico that sold emu hatching and ordered two. They arrived Thursday December 1st around noon. I took them out of the box to let them rest for a day before setting them in the incubator. They were wrapped in diapers which I thought was super cute! My back room which has come to be known as Daryl's room is about 65 degrees in the winter and has one of those fake fireplace/heaters in it that really warms it up when its on. I let the eggs rest laying on their sides for about 24 hours. At first I thought they should be blunt end up/pointy end down like poultry eggs but after emailing the person I purchased the eggs from and reading up a little bit I understood that on their side is the best. The eggs were pretty uniform in shape so I really couldn't tell which end was which anyway. My family and I decided to name them Rick and Daryl since we are huge Walking Dead fans. At 11 am eastern time on 12/2/16 They were set in the incubator. They were weighed prior to setting Rick = 655g Daryl = 716g. And so our journey began...... My next post will be later this evening and will include details on emu egg incubation and my experience doing so. Thanks for reading!

 

[2010cristib]

After reading what you are giving Daryl, we went to Petco for worms, and bug stuff. I think he needs protien. No luck. The canned grasshopper was the only thing he showed interest in and it was too big to eat. Dried meal worms were a no go. Neither dry or soaked in water. Where do you get fly larva?

 

[mich9510]

I purchased soldier fly larvae from Amazon. You might also try maggots or wax worms. All I can say is to keep trying. You can also try other sources of protein such as boiled eggs, or plain cooked pork or beef.

 

[briefvisit]

I purchased soldier fly larvae from Amazon. You might also try maggots or wax worms. All I can say is to keep trying. You can also try other sources of protein such as boiled eggs, or plain cooked pork or beef.

Cooked pork?! Well, I'm lucky: a double-handful of wheat twice a day, and some sultanas. Otherwise, they're on auto-pilot.

Here's the biggest of Eric's chicks, which can now reach the top of a fence post. They may disappear in the next month or so, into the bush.

 

[mich9510]

Daryl made me chuckle today. I have a Pekin duck who is going through puberty and thinks every one and animal wants to mate with his lady ducks. He bites. Well Daryl didn't much care for that. He stood up as tall as I've ever seen, puffed up his neck feathers and ran after that drake hissing all the way. He sent him running for cover. It was pretty funny.

 

[briefvisit]

They are actually pretty feisty in the wild, mich. I remember walking through the bush with Greedy* years ago. I was observing. Greedy had followed along. Well, a fox turned up -- still 60 yards or more from Greedy -- but she charged it immediately, chasing it for 40 or more yards. The fox couldn't exit stage left fast enough.

And apart from endlessly fighting with each other, I've seen . . . well, Greedy anyway . . . have a crack at a kangaroo and a rooster.

*Greedy is assumed dead: no sighting for four years. She was one of only ever two 'double-alpha' birds we have data on. Heck, Greedy would attack a skyscraper:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/714603/lightbox/post/11177810/id/5732345

S.E.

 

[mich9510]

I've been dying to know if Daryl is a boy or girl. I sent out feathers for DNA sexing.
I've read you can vent sex an emu but I can't imagine doing it. It was much less traumatic for all parties to just pluck a little patch of feathers while occupying Daryl with some berries and mealworms. He never even flinched.

 

[briefvisit]

I've been dying to know if Daryl is a boy or girl. I sent out feathers for DNA sexing.
I've read you can vent sex an emu but I can't imagine doing it. It was much less traumatic for all parties to just pluck a little patch of feathers while occupying Daryl with some berries and mealworms. He never even flinched.

The archives hold numerous posts, mich, on vent-sexing emus. I recall that if 'you' were gonna vent-sex Eric, I would weld myself into a cast-iron observation post before the fun began.

 

[drumstick diva]

Oh I hope Greedy is still around maybe

found greener pastures