Using caution around Emu kicks?

[Kalifornsky]

Based on my experience raising emus, they might be able to dent a steel drum, but not punch through it. Regardless, their kick packs a punch, and I don't think it's necessary to react so strongly to something we're all speculating about. No one will know the exact numbers until their kick strength is scientifically evaluated.

Just for fun:
Based on a random site I pulled up, an ostrich can kick with the force of 2,000 lbs per square inch. Steel drums are about .04 inches thick, and to punch half an inch you'd need over 3,000 lbs per square inch of force. I'm terrible at math and probably miscalculated something, but based on these numbers an emu could dent but not completely break through steel.
(http://www.americanmachinetools.com/tonnage_punch_hole.htm)

It's strange actually, an emu we hand raised, Ani, is very tame towards us- but recently he's been acting aggressively towards my brother, and will chase after and kick at him. He's still loving and cuddly towards us, but to my brother he's hostile. It's dominant behavior that has to do with hormones- something to be aware of, that emu temperament can change when they mature (my brother did not partake in raising this emu).

 

[FishMtFarm]

Based on my experience raising emus, they might be able to dent a steel drum, but not punch through it. Regardless, their kick packs a punch, and I don't think it's necessary to react so strongly to something we're all speculating about. No one will know the exact numbers until their kick strength is scientifically evaluated.

Just for fun:
Based on a random site I pulled up, an ostrich can kick with the force of 2,000 lbs per square inch. Steel drums are about .04 inches thick, and to punch half an inch you'd need over 3,000 lbs per square inch of force. I'm terrible at math and probably miscalculated something, but based on these numbers an emu could dent but not completely break through steel.
(http://www.americanmachinetools.com/tonnage_punch_hole.htm)

It's strange actually, an emu we hand raised, Ani, is very tame towards us- but recently he's been acting aggressively towards my brother, and will chase after and kick at him. He's still loving and cuddly towards us, but to my brother he's hostile. It's dominant behavior that has to do with hormones- something to be aware of, that emu temperament can change when they mature (my brother did not partake in raising this emu).

Thank you for sharing that with us. I knew hormones could be an issue but it’s interesting that it’s only someone who didn’t help raise him.

 

[507382]

I've been observing emus in the wild for nearly eleven years.

The kick of the ratites -- emus, ostriches, and cassowaries -- involves an enormously powerful outward thrust. At the point of impact, the leg is fully extended, horizontally. The kicks -- I've watched many fights for territory either from up close or through binoculars -- are breathtakingly fast and powerful, particularly from a 'double-alpha' bird. The talon itself is as hard as nails, and the point of it hits the victim with millimetric accuracy.

I have had an emu turn up here with blood from neck to ankle from a hole in her chest that she certainly scored in a fight.

Supreme Emu, Lake Muir, W.A.

My husband and I were on our way to town yesterday and we were trying to figure out what you do. Do you work at an Emu Sanctuary perhaps?

I hope, besides me not getting kicked, that my emu don't kick each other. That would be tragic. They seem to play fight at this point, maybe testing out their new strength. But so far I don't see any aggression between the three.

 

[matt swenson]

Don't see how i misquoted you. you made a foolish statement, and i used that to that statement to point out how people exaggerate about the dangers of emus. I've punched draft holes in fire barrels, made from drums many times. it takes full swing with 5 pound hammer and a steel punch to penetrate these drums. if you want I can figure out the foot pounds necessary to accomplish this task. then i'm assuming "very close" is within 10%. i would be willing to design and preform an experiment that will prove that "a full-grown emu has a kick that would go very close to punching a hole in a 44 gallon drum" is in fact a false and exaggerated statement.
No disrespect to you or your personal observations of emus . I agree that emus have a powerful kick, but in context most live stock could do equal damage to a person. heck, a dog bite would probably equal if not more damage .

 

[briefvisit]

This is Eric and a clutch of eight. The backyard is a thoroughfare. They've come right up to the car port.


'My husband and I were on our way to town yesterday and we were trying to figure out what you do. Do you work at an Emu Sanctuary perhaps?'

Tee hee -- then they wouldn't be wild birds!

In 2008, Astrid, I rented a farmhouse on a bankrupt blue-gum plantation in the far south-west of Western Australia. The fences were (are) down, and the property is contiguous to a massive national park. There are no cats or dogs. And few vehicle movements. The house-clearing is a rich source of food, including a dozen fruit trees from the abandoned orchard. I've seen upwards of fifty wild birds -- flocks on the move, Dads with clutches, females with consorts -- cruise through the clearing in a single afternoon.

A 'double-alpha' male, 'Eric,' commanded the clearing at that time. And BYC folk and I have been observing and discussing his family and the wild birds since I posted this:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/notes-from-the-emu-homeland.357123/

Together, we have figured out some stuff that is not mentioned in the literature, like females communicating over distances while they are 'commanding' their territory during the incubation period.

Supreme Emu

 

[briefvisit]

'nearly kick through a 44 gallons drum' Post #19

It's Journalism 101: don't paraphrase.

If I'd meant 'kick through,' I'd have written 'kick through.'

And if you'd read past posts, you'd see that I have always demurred at the claims of Emoo Danger.

 

[FishMtFarm]

View attachment 1669710 This is Eric and a clutch of eight. The backyard is a thoroughfare. They've come right up to the car port.


'My husband and I were on our way to town yesterday and we were trying to figure out what you do. Do you work at an Emu Sanctuary perhaps?'

Tee hee -- then they wouldn't be wild birds!

In 2008, Astrid, I rented a farmhouse on a bankrupt blue-gum plantation in the far south-west of Western Australia. The fences were (are) down, and the property is contiguous to a massive national park. There are no cats or dogs. And few vehicle movements. The house-clearing is a rich source of food, including a dozen fruit trees from the abandoned orchard. I've seen upwards of fifty wild birds -- flocks on the move, Dads with clutches, females with consorts -- cruise through the clearing in a single afternoon.

A 'double-alpha' male, 'Eric,' commanded the clearing at that time. And BYC folk and I have been observing and discussing his family and the wild birds since I posted this:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/notes-from-the-emu-homeland.357123/

Together, we have figured out some stuff that is not mentioned in the literature, like females communicating over distances while they are 'commanding' their territory during the incubation period.

Supreme Emu

I always enjoy reading your posts.

 

[507382]

View attachment 1669710 This is Eric and a clutch of eight. The backyard is a thoroughfare. They've come right up to the car port.


'My husband and I were on our way to town yesterday and we were trying to figure out what you do. Do you work at an Emu Sanctuary perhaps?'

Tee hee -- then they wouldn't be wild birds!

In 2008, Astrid, I rented a farmhouse on a bankrupt blue-gum plantation in the far south-west of Western Australia. The fences were (are) down, and the property is contiguous to a massive national park. There are no cats or dogs. And few vehicle movements. The house-clearing is a rich source of food, including a dozen fruit trees from the abandoned orchard. I've seen upwards of fifty wild birds -- flocks on the move, Dads with clutches, females with consorts -- cruise through the clearing in a single afternoon.

A 'double-alpha' male, 'Eric,' commanded the clearing at that time. And BYC folk and I have been observing and discussing his family and the wild birds since I posted this:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/notes-from-the-emu-homeland.357123/

Together, we have figured out some stuff that is not mentioned in the literature, like females communicating over distances while they are 'commanding' their territory during the incubation period.

Supreme Emu

Oh man that's so cool.
in my backyard in Northern BC, Canada, we have rare Kermode Bears (they're white black bears) and I'm constantly booting bears from my yard. They're big oafs and they just come by looking for food. I don't observe them though. I can only imagine if it were emus instead, that would be amusing!

I also have two cockatoos, a Goffin's and a Moluccan. So I should really visit Australia one day, because it has so many natural animals that I've got in my house screaming and biting up a storm!

 

[briefvisit]

'I'm constantly booting bears from my yard'

Whooo, Astrid!! I love it that my normal is your exotic, and vice versa. I've always wanted to see bears!! And I found a Youtube video of a baby moose playing in someone's backyard sprinkler. Wa ha ha!!

 

[matt swenson]

Sorry,i seem to be jerk, i've just had to put up with a lot of "disemboweling emu attack issues". my liability insurance first tried to hike my premium and later were going to drop my coverage all together because of the dangers of emu attacks. turns out they had feed on a bunch of internet "exaggerated anecdotal stories" that demonized emus. it all worked out, but it was a pain in the butt.
That being said i did run into some serious aggression from my male (Elvis ) today. To this date there hasn't even been non friendly whisper. it was a an unusually nice afternoon so i figured i give their pen a quick clean up. scooped up the poop, no problem. pitch forked out the dirty straw...no problem. then i got a big black plastic leaf rake to rake up some of the leaves and straw the track out of their shelter. i've used this rake in their pen dozens of times. today as soon as i started raking ...Elvis we crazy. hissing and false charging me. getting all up in my face. pretty much acting like he intended to kick through me, like ...for lack of a better expression ...a steel drum.
At this moment i had vision of a man. A man leaning back casually in a chair, in his left hand a oil can of Fosters larger. "doesn't think a emu can kick punch through 44 gallon drum"...he pauses for a moment and in one smooth motion finishes the beer and opens a fresh can..."reckon he'll think better when it kicks him in his dumb Yank face." Kangaroo nods in agreement, and they both laugh.
Anyway, as i'm thinking I about learn a valuable lesson in keeping my mouth shut. i suddenly see the aggression isn't really directed at me. it all about the rake. Elvis is pecking at the handle and squaring off at the "fan part" of the leaf rake. i toss the rake over the fence and everything goes back to normal.
my theory , the rake must have looked like another emu?? out side the pen i turned the rake toward him and he went nuts hissing and trying to get at it through the fence. so guess, during the breeding season no raking.
All joking aside, Elvis went from zero to sixty at seeing that rake. Something I've never seen him do. I've taken 10 eggs out out their enclosure. gone in a fed them, played with them, i was even "bear hugging him " last week to get a ball of poop and snow that had frozen to his breast feathers, all with no issues. Not even a hint. i expected some aggression, because all the books predict it. maybe,his hormone levels are finally up. maybe this just the first incident and this behavior will go on all breeding season. i'll keep you posted.