Want Emus - should I get 2 for companionship? Where can I find some chicks for sale?

[AnimalAddict]

I'm in California. My husband has wanted an Emu for many years and I think now is the right time to add one to our farm. I would love to get him one for Father's Day, so I am starting to research them. I can't seem to find any close by. Is is safe to have them shipped? Where should I start looking?

And most importantly, I believe "everyone needs someone", lol! I have at least 2 or 3 of everything. I used to have 2 of everything until I realized that if something happened to 1, then the one left would be alone so I started getting 3 of everything. Everyone thinks I'm crazy. So do Emus do better alone, or with other emus?

Any advice is aprpeciated. We have 10 acres. Should the emus have their own area or can they share a paddock with goats & llamas? Or would they prefer to be with the horses?

Thank you!

 

[Adenium]

I'm in California.  I used to have 2 of everything until I realized that if something happened to 1, then the one left would be alone so I started getting 3 of everything. 

Just wanted to say I LOVE your chicken math logic.

This is how we bought 4 Silkies.....so no one would end up alone. I think 3 could reasonably be expanded to 4......

There's been an active emu pictures/stories thread, maybe those folks will jump in and help. Good luck!

 

[Raptor65]

I'd definitely get at least two Emus, I ended up with just one after my girl didn't make it through her first week.
If you're hatching you might even consider trying for three in case one doesn't make it because a single Emu is a real handful and he really hates to be what he considers to be alone.

 

[dinomu]

Unless you have experience with Emus...... I'd start with 4 if I were you. We got 2 paired, week old. One didn't make it so we are down to 3 now. I didn't want one of my babies to feel lonely so I searched everywhere I can think of to find him a playmate/girl friend..... wasn't able to find one since it was already toward to the end of season. After searching all over, I miraculously got 4 eggs to hatch. It's always better to get more than less isn't it?

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Few life-forms are solitary, and they all congregate to mate. Emus are a ‘flock-bird.’ They clearly like to be around one another (although they fuss and fight endlessly). There was an emu around here that I called ‘Orphan Emu’ simply because it was on its own.

Others will provide further detail, but it seems that in many situations you can mix and match emus and other creatures.

Ten acres is an elegantly sufficient area. The fine thing is that ten acres is plenty of room for one or four or six or eight emus to roam about in.

Supreme Emu

 

[Albanydog]

I'm in California. My husband has wanted an Emu for many years and I think now is the right time to add one to our farm. I would love to get him one for Father's Day, so I am starting to research them. I can't seem to find any close by. Is is safe to have them shipped? Where should I start looking?

And most importantly, I believe "everyone needs someone", lol! I have at least 2 or 3 of everything. I used to have 2 of everything until I realized that if something happened to 1, then the one left would be alone so I started getting 3 of everything. Everyone thinks I'm crazy. So do Emus do better alone, or with other emus?

Any advice is aprpeciated. We have 10 acres. Should the emus have their own area or can they share a paddock with goats & llamas? Or would they prefer to be with the horses?

Thank you!

We have a single emu, Emily, she was raised with our chickens and when she got big enough and decide baby chicks we good play things we moved her to the main pasture with the llamas, goats & geese. She still gets to hang with the chickens that free range into the pasture everyday. She is 3 now and other then calling for a mate during season she doesn't seem to be lonely, though I would be interested in finding a young male to raise so she could have a mate if she so chose too. We read up on emus when we got her and everything we read said they really don't live in groups in the wild they only come together to find a mate and the female finds multiple mates, fills the nest and leave the male behind and goes off and finds yet another mate. In the USA they of course are raised in flocks but by nature they are loners. She sleeps snuggled up to the goats and/or the geese in the loafing shed at night and checks everyone out as they come and go from the field but she doesn't follow any of our animals as if she were part of the pack or flock. When she takes off on her runs everybody gets out of her way, she loves to run by herself or chase the gator/atv through the field.

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Albanydog,
you did your homework well. I have seen several scholarly texts that say that emus ‘don’t really live in groups.’ However, I wrote above that they are ‘flock birds’ because, after four years of watching them, I don’t understand what it means to say that they aren't. It may be that travelling in flocks to find food when it is scarce is only a stratagem; but I am privileged to see wild emus all over the place all the time, including my tame ones, and they do seem to live in groups. (I’m old and ill, and I only mention that because I’ve been here at the farmhouse every day, except trips-to-town days once every ten days or so, for the last four years.) I spend a great deal of time observing wild and tame emus; and I rarely see an emu alone (the male parenting thing is an exception). I usually see them in groups of three to five, but I see them in flocks of twenty or more regularly. You can walk down to ‘Coffey’s-fence paddock’ any morning, and see a dozen bolt off into the scrub. In fig season, they come in groups of a half dozen or a dozen, day in day out, for months. Eric the Emu, the original emu, has been in company with Mrs. Eric for several years now, even though the books say they don’t become permanent couples. Greedy, one of my two tame birds, went off the first year she was mature, and found Boy Emu, with whom she now spends all her time; and two more birds are sometimes-members of her ‘flock.’
Supreme Emu
Rocky Gully, Western Australia

 

[Albanydog]

Wow, great story. I guess maybe it depends on where they live, the resources they have etc. We have geese that only allow one of the ladies to actually do the hatching then after each chick is a couple days old the female will bring it to the door and squat like crazy to call the rest of the flock, then she shoves the gosling outside to be babysat all day. The flock make a circle around the gosling as they travel around the field, in order to protect it from predators then at night they bring it back to the goose house and under mom it goes and the rest of the flock heads to the goat house for the night because they apparently aren't allowed to sleep in the house when momma is sitting. Haven't yet heard of anyone else whose geese act in this manner but ours do so what is normal for one bird or flock may not be for another. Thanks for the info and for sharing your experience!

 

[yinepu]

Wow, great story. I guess maybe it depends on where they live, the resources they have etc. We have geese that only allow one of the ladies to actually do the hatching then after each chick is a couple days old the female will bring it to the door and squat like crazy to call the rest of the flock, then she shoves the gosling outside to be babysat all day. The flock make a circle around the gosling as they travel around the field, in order to protect it from predators then at night they bring it back to the goose house and under mom it goes and the rest of the flock heads to the goat house for the night because they apparently aren't allowed to sleep in the house when momma is sitting. Haven't yet heard of anyone else whose geese act in this manner but ours do so what is normal for one bird or flock may not be for another. Thanks for the info and for sharing your experience!

a few years ago my older geese did the same thing .. so you don't have the only odd ones.. lol
we gave that batch away... so no idea if the newest goslings from this year will grow up to be the same way or not