Purchasing the yearling emus has advantages over young chicks in form of estimation of adult size, conformation, and insurability. An emu yearling pair costs around
$11,000 to $19,000 for sexed pairs
. This costs around $5,500 to $9,500 per yearling of emu for a single bird.
Can I buy an emu as a pet?
Emus are big birds—usually 110 to 150 pounds! —but they're docile and
can make great pets or livestock
. To keep them, you'll need tall wire fences with openings that the emus can't get their heads stuck in, such as no-climb horse fencing.
Are emus hard to keep?
When it comes to raising emus, fencing may be your biggest expense. Emus are big birds—usually 110 to 150 pounds! —but they'
re docile
and can make great pets or livestock. To keep them, you'll need tall wire fences with openings that the emus can't get their heads stuck in, such as no-climb horse fencing.
How many acres does an emu need?
Land requirements are
between 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 an acre per breeding pair
. Separate pens are required for breeding and raising chicks. Fencing should be chain-link, woven-wire or no-climb mesh, however large wire mesh should be avoided and all pens should be five to six feet in height.
What do you feed an emu?
WHAT DO THEY EAT? Emus are omnivorous, but eat mainly
vegetation
. This varies with the season, and includes a wide variety of leaves, grasses, seeds and native flowers. When available, they also like water plants, such as duckweed and filamentous algae.
Can emu live with chickens?
We recommend getting your emus as chicks to acclimate them to you, to get them tame and then introducing them to your poultry when they are old enough to be outdoors by separating them in an area where they can see your poultry.
Our emu live with chickens, ducks
, geese, swans, pot bellied pigs, peafowl & guineas.
How long can emus live?
These chicks will stay with their male for 5- 7 months, learning the necessary survival skills. The chicks are fully grown at around 12 months, but do not mature sexually until around 18-20 months. In the
wild emus live 5-10 years
, but in captivity they may live 35 years.
What does emu meat taste like?
Emu meat is like
beef
in that it contains myoglobin, proteins that hold oxygen and make meat red, says Todd Green, a zoologist at Oklahoma State University who has studied emus for a decade. “It tastes a lot like beef even though it's a bird,” Green adds.
Does EMU eat meat?
Emus are omnivores, which means that they feed on
both plant and animal matter
. They forage for seeds, berries, fresh grasses, and fruits, but usually do not eat leaves.
Can EMU eat dog food?
Our younger birds prefer the
dog food chunks
, the older ones the seed, but some of the Emus will eat both. Until the Emus are around 3 months of age, we use a food processor to grind up the dog food mini chunks mixed with the ratite feed.
Do emus need to be in pairs?
The only two that are a bit wild are
Marco and Polo
but when they are together, they are more comfortable around people. One way to get them used to you is to constantly have them eat out of your hands. When raising emus, you must have at least two. They are very sociable creatures and need a buddy.
Are emu good pets?
They are flightless birds and quite a popular commodity these days all over the world. They stand up to 6.2 feet in height and lay beautiful blue-green eggs. They
make great pets, egg producers, predator control, and food for the
table.
Are emu eggs good eating?
2. The eggs! … Emu eggs are not just pretty to look at, they're
nutritious
, too! A single emu egg represents the equivalent of about ten regular chicken eggs, and an emu egg contains more of the “good” and less of the “bad” cholesterol than a chicken's egg.
How many eggs does an emu lay in a year?
Emu lay eggs in the winter months, usually between November and March. Eggs are laid every 3 or 4 days, with an average of
30 eggs laid per season
. Some may produce up to 50 eggs per season.
What is the lifespan of an emu in captivity?
In captivity, emus can live for upwards of
ten years
.
Are emus attracted to humans?
Captive emus also become attracted to humans
. Pat Sauer of the American Emu Association said: “There can be problems when an emu falls in love with you.
