When will our Emuss start laying Eggs?

[Emu House]

I have taken to the vet, samples of everything excreted but by the time I got the fecal sample there (we live a long way out) it had virtually disintegrated and was not sufficient to work with. There was not much solid within the sample. I did however manage to collect a very good specimen of the sputum which revealed a bacteria, which was treated by antibiotics which did not work, despite a repeat course being given. Oral antibiotics became difficult to administer as she got wise to what she was in for, however I persisted and did the best I could. It is very difficult to get vet advice or assistance in this region for an emu. I contacted the zoo vet department who refused to give advice outside zoo issues. It is not by choice that the bird continues to deteriorate. I reiterate that I have tried everything. While she still wanders around albeit not half the bird weight she used to be, I saw her pecking at things on the ground just yesterday. She can walk around wherever she wants. If she chooses to sit on the front doormat she can. If she wants access to the larger grounds she just waits by the gate for me to open if for her. She may improve and I am hopeful that will happen. I simply wish I could expedite her progress forward but there is little left I can do except continue to care for her as I am. Thank you for your reply and comment.

 

[Emu House]

By free-roaming around the property, yes, she has access to many places. We don't leave things lying around that she might find attractive enough to want to swallow if you are referring to nails,tools, wire or general farming stuff. I mentioned previously she has access to the streams and the forest and of course, there might be things in there she picks up. I don't follow her every move. We chose to give this natural born wanderer the benefits of wandering rather than limiting those instincts by keeping her in an enclosure as we prefer prefer to give her the freedom she seems to enjoy. Admittedly, there is an element of risk associated with that amount of freedom, that she may swallow something, somewhere that she shouldnt. It does not appear to me that she has an impaction but without X-ray to confirm, that is not easily identifiable. Today she is walking around in the rain, now heading for the front door where there is a mat she likes to sit on, Thanks again for the comments/suggestions.

 

[hoekzema1]

Please can anyone help me? I have never done this before. I thought i read everything i needed to know about ostrich's but now i'm not so confident. I need to know if it's normal for an ostrich egg to be leaking clear pinkish red fluid through the egg? It's not cracked.

 

[birdeo]

Please can anyone help me? I have never done this before. I thought i read everything i needed to know about ostrich's but now i'm not so confident. I need to know if it's normal for an ostrich egg to be leaking clear pinkish red fluid through the egg? It's not cracked.

no...that egg is busy going rotten, best to chunk it .

 

[birdeo]

I have taken to the vet, samples of everything excreted but by the time I got the fecal sample there (we live a long way out) it had virtually disintegrated and was not sufficient to work with. There was not much solid within the sample. I did however manage to collect a very good specimen of the sputum which revealed a bacteria, which was treated by antibiotics which did not work, despite a repeat course being given. Oral antibiotics became difficult to administer as she got wise to what she was in for, however I persisted and did the best I could. It is very difficult to get vet advice or assistance in this region for an emu. I contacted the zoo vet department who refused to give advice outside zoo issues. It is not by choice that the bird continues to deteriorate. I reiterate that I have tried everything. While she still wanders around albeit not half the bird weight she used to be, I saw her pecking at things on the ground just yesterday. She can walk around wherever she wants. If she chooses to sit on the front doormat she can. If she wants access to the larger grounds she just waits by the gate for me to open if for her. She may improve and I am hopeful that will happen. I simply wish I could expedite her progress forward but there is little left I can do except continue to care for her as I am. Thank you for your reply and comment.

a stool sample will keep fine if kept in a baggie and very cool ( in a cooler for example) for up to 24 hours but do understand too about it being not very solid...is that case with them a lot , especially when they of course are not eating well.
Did not realize you had done all that before now and was not being critical , please don't misunderstand, was just trying to give you the basic go to starting point. ( some people will say they've " tried everything" but until you go into detail we never know how much
" everything" actually means .)
Is a shame the zoo vet will not help you out there.
There could be several other things wrong with the bird that you may not know what it was, for sure , until after she's deceased , sadly.
I actually lost 2 to heart defects over the years but other than that none of our birds have ever had any serious health issues whatsoever , not even the first parasite problem and my birds are pushing 25 years of age.
Good luck with your bird, hope she ends up getting better and thriving for many years to come.

 

[Emu House]

Many thanks again. It has been nice to talk to another emu enthusiast. It's a pretty lonely road over here. Was delighted to hear your birds have reached such an age. You should be proud.

 

[briefvisit]

Eric the Emu is incubating probably just a few hundred metres from the house here; but I'm too old to track him down. He and Mrs Eric came morning and night for their wheat until one morning he didn't turn up, which is how you know he's sitting.

SE, Unicup, Western Australia

 

[swannemu]

We started raising emus in the early '90s. The bottom fell out. Over the years we lost them. We have 5 birds now. 2 pair and an 8 month old that one pair hatched this March. A few years ago when we had several more, we were contacted by a couple who had a female bird. They had taken her in about 3 or 4 years before. She was just a chick when they found her. They didn't have a male and there wasn't a male anywhere nearby. She had layed one egg. They were looking for a boyfriend for "BeBe". So they got our name from the feed store and contacted us. We sold them one of our males for $50. It took all 4 of us chasing him for over an hour. They dubbed him "Trucker" and off he went. From what we heard, they hit it off when he got to his new home. Not sure though if she laid any eggs for him to hatch. I would imagine she did though. But, they can lay without a male - they might not make a habit of it.