Warning to perspective first-time emu owners!

[roseyred]

It seems like emus are becoming fashionable to own again, as I have been contacted by record numbers of perspective egg and chick buyers. Many of these people have never raised or even been around an adult emu.  One of the first questions that I ask any potential customer is, "how much space do you have for your pen?". 

I have been amazed at the number of people who have not considered how much room an adult emu requires and planned to raise then in an "old dog or chicken pen".  When I get that for an answer, I refuse to consider selling them an emu, even if they get mad or offer me more that what I would normally charge.

Emus are very large birds (duh?) and need to be able to run in order to strengthen their legs and get their exercise.  They are not birds that can typically be kept in a back yard "cage" or even the typical residential back yard!.  They can run at speeds in excess of 30 miles per hour and take up to 9' in a single stride!  Their pens need to be very long (120' or more), although they can be narrow in design.

If you are thinking about becoming an emu owner, remember that an emu, as a rule, requires about the same space that a horse would and you would not (hopefully) think about keeping a horse cooped up in an old dog pen!

So this is a serious question. I have chickens horses goats bunnies....all that and more and I'd like to get some female emus. We have 2 acres fenced off into two fields with just regular wood fence about 5 feet or more. Would the emus be able to live on an acre? Would I need to put some chicken wire or chain link around the fence to keep them in? If I got younger ones an kept them in a chain link kennel till they were idk...20 pounds would that be bad? My chickens free range and are pretty mch just outside all the time, they do whatever they want. We have two stalls an just one horse. Could the emu use a stall as shelter? The horse is actualy a medium pony and he is friendly. Do ou think they'd be okay? He loves our goats lol

 

[ES Emus]

a couple of emus should have substantial room inside a 2 acre enclosure. You say you have a regular wooden fence but I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that description, emus can be escape artists and I don't know any emu owners who do not have wire fencing usually over some type of wooden fencing. Six foot tall fencing is the standard for emus, though some people use five foot. Emus tend to get along with other animals if they are raised with them, They don't always get along with other animals introduced into their pens when they are adults. If an emu is raised using a shelter, they may continue to use that shelter. Our birds only enter their shelters when we feed them in there. They prefer to sleep outside, even during blizzards and hurricanes! I cannot recommend keeping 20 pound emus in a kennel, unless it is a very large kennel. Growing emus need daily exercise to strengthen their legs, they need to run or they can develop leg problems which often require them to have to be put down. And lastly... there are no hard and fast rules with emus, they can have drastically different personalities, just like people, and just like people their personalities can change from young birds to adults.

 

[roseyred]

Cool thank you. I will wait till I can build suitable fencing for them before getting them. I love birds of all kinds. Especially with pretty eggs

 

[briefvisit]

ES is voicing concerns that have come up again and again. Emus need LOTS of space. It you don't have the space, please don't get a chick.

SE

 

[roseyred]

ES is voicing concerns that have come up again and again. Emus need LOTS of space. It you don't have the space, please don't get a chick.

SE

Like I said..not gonna get em till I have stable
Fencing. I have more than enough space

 

[fancyfowl]

What is the value of the common emu? Not some super high quality emus right off the boat from Australia. And not some inbred cull. Just your average-joe emu lol. Like how much can they be bought/sold for fairly? From them as chicks. To month olds, to 3 month olds, to 6 month olds, to yearlings, then to adults. What is the value at those stages of maturities. I live on the eastern seaboard. If that fluctuates the value in anyway.

 

[Haida]

What is the value of the common emu? Not some super high quality emus right off the boat from Australia. And not some inbred cull. Just your average-joe emu lol. Like how much can they be bought/sold for fairly? From them as chicks. To month olds, to 3 month olds, to 6 month olds, to yearlings, then to adults. What is the value at those stages of maturities. I live on the eastern seaboard. If that fluctuates the value in anyway.

As far as I know, you can't get an emu straight from Australia. It's illegal there to transport them or their eggs out. That's why there's a lot of concerns about inbreeding. I've seen the chicks go for around $75, sometimes more. There's a ranch in PA who was selling 18 month olds for $150, but that was last winter. Here's their website: http://www.jkemufarm.com/ (Just a note: I don't work for them and I've never contacted them or anything like that, but I'm keeping an eye on their website. My next round of eggs might be coming from them--I won't have to ship the eggs that way).

I bought my eggs from a hobby breeder for $10 each. And he lives down the road from me. Both eggs hatched, and both of my little emu princesses are 7 months old. Not sure how much an adult would go for.

Hope that helps!

 

[Haida]

a couple of emus should have substantial room inside a 2 acre enclosure. You say you have a regular wooden fence but I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that description, emus can be escape artists and I don't know any emu owners who do not have wire fencing usually over some type of wooden fencing. Six foot tall fencing is the standard for emus, though some people use five foot. Emus tend to get along with other animals if they are raised with them, They don't always get along with other animals introduced into their pens when they are adults. If an emu is raised using a shelter, they may continue to use that shelter. Our birds only enter their shelters when we feed them in there. They prefer to sleep outside, even during blizzards and hurricanes! I cannot recommend keeping 20 pound emus in a kennel, unless it is a very large kennel. Growing emus need daily exercise to strengthen their legs, they need to run or they can develop leg problems which often require them to have to be put down. And lastly... there are no hard and fast rules with emus, they can have drastically different personalities, just like people, and just like people their personalities can change from young birds to adults.

Hi ES Emus, could you elaborate a little bit on how your emus behave in winter? We're in central NY, so the winters here can be harsh... and my girls don't want anything to do with their house anymore... it's a 10' x 12' shed with a huge double door. They're about 7 months old and seem to be very hardy already (we've had some horrible storms here lately, but they don't even bat an eye!) but I still worry. I thought about building a wind break or a lean-to out of 8' x 4' pallets, but I'm not sure if they would even use it. Do yours even try to get out of the wind and snow, or do they just lay down wherever? Thanks in advance.

 

[ES Emus]

Hi ES Emus, could you elaborate a little bit on how your emus behave in winter? We're in central NY, so the winters here can be harsh... and my girls don't want anything to do with their house anymore... it's a 10' x 12' shed with a huge double door. They're about 7 months old and seem to be very hardy already (we've had some horrible storms here lately, but they don't even bat an eye!) but I still worry. I thought about building a wind break or a lean-to out of 8' x 4' pallets, but I'm not sure if they would even use it. Do yours even try to get out of the wind and snow, or do they just lay down wherever? Thanks in advance.

they sleep in the snow, wake up and shake it off and continue like nothing happened, they have remained unchanged for about 80 million years, they have outlived the dinosaurs, and can survive temperatures of 0-100 degrees F. with little or no problems, The world's most temperature tolerant birds.

 

[briefvisit]

Never that cold here; but:

whole squadrons of wild birds on their knees in pouring rain and freezing cold, happily chowing down.

SE