Your help Requested - Hertiage of your emu's

[kbgh]

I've been corresponding with Tame Emu Guy aka Supreme Emu and in the course of our discussion the topic of the 3 subspecies of emu's came up.

Here is my question to those of you keeping emu.

Do you know anything about their genetic lineage. Possibly their subspecies or where you line of birds originated from in Australia.

There are 3 distinct subspecies and we would like to see if one, two or all three have been introduced to the US and other countries please chime in also.

Pictures of your males and females would help this experiment.

Also please comment on any physical characteristics and difference in you birds.

Thanks, Kerry and S.E.

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Rothschildi, four-year-old alpha female. Likes pasta salad, barefoot walks on the beach, and dumping males who've served their purpose.

 

[Calla]

Barefoot ?? do the rest wear boots ?? lol Does she like Spaghetti, mine do, funny watching eating them ...uncut....lol
No wonder she ditches males, choosy ehhh , lucky girl.....she is sooo beautiful.

Calla

 

[yinepu]

Mine are too young yet to tell their lineage.. lol.. maybe next year when their "breeding plumage" comes in.

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Hey, Calla!

I haven’t tried her with a range of things because my diet is super limited. It seems – logically enough – that they like things made of wheat: a bit of biscuit, pasta, bread.

Although I love Greedy (It’s Greedy in the photo. She is threatening a female about a half a mile away.), she is a scruffy personage. The birds I think are attractive are the dark glossy ones with neat feathers.

Supreme Emu

 

[Calla]

Hi Supreme Emu .

My Emu chicks had all kinds of pasta and rice from about 2 weeks old on...also boiled sliced jacket potatoes, but once adult they are more fussy, unlike the Rheas, they 'scoff' anything in site lol.
I have a glut of apples at the moment and the middle pair, Jasmine and Dori are in that orchard now, but not eat any, rather play football with them lol....but love them sliced amongst greens for supper.

I have one Emu female, 21 months now,Jasmine, ever since she was a baby, always looked paler...I thought with age she might get darker, but paler even more so now.

She is also very cheeky full of life and always at my side when I see them. She even removed my glasses several times from my head, but let me have them back after she found out, not edible lol.

Calla

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[Tame Emu Guy]

Morning, Calla!

Hmmm . . . perhaps ‘paler’ what I think of as ‘sandy-coloured’?

When you can observe numbers of emus, you do see differences in colour and everything else. I always look for such things, and every so often I see a noticeably ‘sandy’ bird.

Quite a few – I think it’s hilarious – have different ‘haircuts.’ Hence ‘Mohawk Emu’ last winter. Prehistoric monsters with little kiss curls sticking up off their heads. Wa ha ha

Supreme Emu

 

[Calla]

Now we have 'Mohawk Emu’ with with little kiss curls sticking up ? yes I noticed, quite cute lol
specially when in wind or wet lol l better start get the brush and combs out.
Calla