What Do You Feed Emus In Captivity?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

, , , ,

In captivity, emus do not have access to quite as many insects. Farmers or breeders will supplement these emus with foods like

bone meal, chicken eggs, small animals, meat and other animal products

. Emus can also catch and devour small animals like mice and lizards if they are hungry enough or lack required nutrition.

What is an Emus favorite food?


Flowers, fruits, seeds, shoots, large insects

(caterpillars are a favorite), lizards, and small rodents. They also swallow large pebbles to grind up food in their gizzards.

What do you feed pet emus?

Emus and Rheas in nature eat

fruits and seeds

; a complete ratite food is better than a homemade diet. The ostrich’s digestive system is mostly large intestine, as their diet in nature is mostly grasses. You may supplement them with corn, apples, alfalfa pellets, horse sweet feed, greens and beets, even dog food ????

Can Emus eat chicken pellets?

An adult emu will eat an average of

1 1/2 pounds of ground or pelleted

feed per day. They will eat less if they are allowed to “graze” all day long with feed available to them at all times. It is not advised to keep emus with other poultry.

Can Emus eat carrots?

Natural food of emu is insects, tender leaves of plant and forages. It also

eats different kinds of vegetables and fruits like carrot, cucumber, papaya

etc. Female is the larger of the two, especially during breeding season when the male may fast. … Emus live for about 30 years.

Are emus 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. The always-popular emu?

Are emus hard to raise?

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.

Can you feed emus 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 like water?


Emus and are not afraid of water and can swim well

. When running their stride can be about 2.7m (9 feet) long.

What is the life expectancy of an emu?

Emus have a life expectancy of

about 10-20 years in the wild

, and 35 years in captivity.

Do emus need to be in pairs?


Emus predominately travel in pairs

, and while they can form large flocks, this is an atypical social behaviour that arises from the common need to move towards a new food source. Emus have been shown to travel long distances to reach abundant feeding areas.

Why do people raise emus?

Another primary purpose of keeping emus is

their use as a meat source

. An average adult emu can supply somewhere between 20 and 30 pounds of meat, and the quality and flavor of emu meat is highly praised.

How much do emus cost?

Yearling emus can cost

$11,000 to $19,000

for a sexed pair, while a pair older than two can cost even more, often as much as $25,000. If the pair has been proven to be a good pair and breeds well, then this can be near the top, costing as much as $30,000 to $40,000.

Do emus have teeth?

Emus are flightless but their strong legs make them very fast runners. …

Emus have no teeth to grind up food

so they swallow pebbles into the gizzard and the pebbles grind up the food like a mill. Emu eyes are covered with clear membranes like security blinds to protect them against dust and moisture loss.

Can emus eat strawberries?


Yes, Emu’s eat strawberries

. In the wild they survive on fruits, seeds, plants and insects.

What is a emus diet?

Emus are omnivorous, which means they eat a

variety of plants and animals

. Their food choice depends on what is available; it can include leaves, grasses, fruits, native plants and insects. Emus seek out the most nutritious part of the plant to eat in order to help maintain their huge body weight.

Diane Mitchell
Author
Diane Mitchell
Diane Mitchell is an animal lover and trainer with over 15 years of experience working with a variety of animals, including dogs, cats, birds, and horses. She has worked with leading animal welfare organizations. Diane is passionate about promoting responsible pet ownership and educating pet owners on the best practices for training and caring for their furry friends.