Will my teenage emus ever tame down?

[ArcherFarms]

Hi everyone! I have a couple emus that are about 5 months old now. They came from a big farm so they were raised by emu parents, not by hand. They were both very wild when we first got them, and I've gotten them to the point where they eat from my hands, but they are still very skittish of us and spook easy. Just yesterday we had to catch one to doctor a little wound on her leg and she panicked on us, running into the fence and walls of the coup, and it really scared me, I was so afraid she was going to hurt herself. So my question is will they ever tame down to where it's not such a panic to handle them? Am I just being impatient or will they always be wild like that because they weren't raised by hand? Any suggestions besides just spending time with them and feeding them treats? Thanks for any advice, this is my first time raising emus !!

 

[pozees2]

You might want to look for Emu threads @Pyxis has, lots of information there. I'll see if I can find you a link to one.

 

[pozees2]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pyxis-emu-chat-thread.1221896/

 

[Pyxis]

I wish I could help, but I've always raised mine from babies. I've never tried to tame down an older one. I think you're doing what you can, just spend a lot of time in with them so they get used to you and don't see you as a threat, and offer them lots of nice treats. Maybe sit in the pen and read aloud to them so they get used to your voice, and it'll give you something to do other than just sitting in there, haha. They may never like to be handled or petted, but with them coming up to you to eat from you, that's a good start.

 

[briefvisit]

My experience, ArcherFarms -- with wild emus -- is that tameability is directly related to how early you begin interacting with the chicks. They won't get much tamer.

'Uno Chick' -- pictured here with her dad, the legendary Eric -- was the tamest chick ever simply because she was so young when Eric brought her to my place.


P.s.: the thing about them panicking, running blindly into things, is heart-breaking. Ask me when you're ready: at least while they're still half grown, you can learn how to 'swoop down' on them, and safely subdue them for doctoring.



'Maybe sit in the pen and read aloud to them so they get used to your voice' -- great idea. I talk to the wild emus here all the time. It definitely calms them down.

 

[ArcherFarms]

My experience, ArcherFarms -- with wild emus -- is that tameability is directly related to how early you begin interacting with the chicks. They won't get much tamer.

View attachment 2259470
'Uno Chick' -- pictured here with her dad, the legendary Eric -- was the tamest chick ever simply because she was so young when Eric brought her to my place.


P.s.: the thing about them panicking, running blindly into things, is heart-breaking. Ask me when you're ready: at least while they're still chicks, you can learn how to 'swoop down' on them, and safely subdue them for doctoring.



'Maybe sit in the pen and read aloud to them so they get used to your voice' -- great idea. I talk to the wild emus here all the time. It definitely calms them down.

Aw, man, sad that they probably won't get any more docile, but thank you for telling it straight! I'm working on a little "saferoom" in the coop, so we can heard them in there and they only have smooth walls, and not a lot of space to get a good run at anything so they can't hit it hard. While we continue to monitor the one's leg, I throw a blanket over her then just grab her real fast, that seems to be working without any chaos. Thank you for the advice!

 

[Leeyou]

Aw, man, sad that they probably won't get any more docile, but thank you for telling it straight! I'm working on a little "saferoom" in the coop, so we can heard them in there and they only have smooth walls, and not a lot of space to get a good run at anything so they can't hit it hard. While we continue to monitor the one's leg, I throw a blanket over her then just grab her real fast, that seems to be working without any chaos. Thank you for the advice!

We’ve had our emu since she was 1 week. We’ve given her lots of love and we both interact with her regularly. She has always been a spaz.. We can’t pet her (she’s now 8 months), but she likes to be where we are. She will plop down next to us when we feed her, but it’s very rare we can put a hand on her. She’s loves to be hosed down and acts like a cat on catnip at those times.