Emu Care Sheet

EMU CARE SHEET

What are Emus?
The emu is a member of the ratite family. as are ostriches, rheas, kiwi and cassowary.

An Emu's characteristics are, small wings and a breastbone with no keel. They are generally originated from all continents south of the equator, except for Antarctic.
Emu's do not get as big as an ostrich. They grow to about 5 - 6 feet tall from their head. They are very gentle birds and some are friendly, depending on how they are raised.
However, they do have sharp claws that could really hurt a person if you try to catch one that is not friendly or sick.

Some farmers use emus for their meat, the meat is very lean and has a taste similar to beef.
The emu's oil if a highly penetrating, hypo-allegenic oil with cosmetic and medical applications.

The Emu is a native of Australia and was originally imported to the United States from 1930-1950 as exotic zoo stock.
The average adult weights between 110 and 140 pounds.. Their height is about 5-1/2 inches.

The female emu can lay eggs for about 20 years. She begins to lay about the age of two or three years. The female emu can lay 20-50 eggs per year. Their eggs are editable and taste like chicken eggs if scrambled.

The emu's life span is suppose to be about 25-35 years.
Emus can generally adapt to most climates and may be raised anywhere in the U.S.
Emu's should have some type of shelter for cold winters and shade for summer.

Emu's are generally pretty hardy, can develop intestine worms. It is a good practice to give your emu "Ivomec" or similar several times a year. It can be bought in a paste form.
There are other preventative that can be bought in a powder form to put in their water.

Generally Emu's can be put with livestock with no problem. However, a introductory should be done first.

The Emu is the second largest bird in the world and is very docile. They enjoy the companionship of people and can be curious, playful and friendly. Emu's can have their own personalities.

What do Emus and Rheas eat?
Emus will eat a feed called "Ratite feed". However, you must be careful when buying feed for emus or any other ratites, especially at a young age. Make sure the feed is fresh and in-date. Once you purchase the feed, stick to the same brand. This is very important mostly at a young age. If you have young emus (under 6 months) You should feed them ratite grower. If you cannot find the ratite feed, then you can use the turkey/game finisher. DO NOT USE TURKEY STARTER at any age.
Turkey/game finisher is cheaper and seems to agree with these birds. As a snack, they love apples sliced thin, grapes, and other fruits.. I have also seen Rocky the Emu eat scrambled eggs, macaroni salad, potato salad, dog food.

What are Rheas?
Rheas almost look like ostriches. They are in the Ostrich family also. They do not get quite as big as the Emus do. They grow to about 4-5 feet from their head... Rheas come in several different colors.
We had the all white with blue eyes and the grey Rhea's.. The male rheas get very protective of any female rheas.... Most of the male rhea's get very nasty.. They bite very hard.... Ozzie the white rhea bit my thumb one time, and literally took a chunk out of it.... Sorry to say, but we butchered him.

The meat is like a very lean beef.. Now the female's are not mean at all. They are friendly and will come to you and peck at your hand, but in a nebby type of way... They don't really hurt you. However, they do seem to peck a little harder than the emu does.. I don't recommend rheas as pets. The Emus have a much better disposition and personality.

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Baby Rhea's
We raised some from a baby of about 1 month old. They are very fragile and have to be cared for very careful., but once they reach 3 months old, they are easier to care for. Straw is NOT recommended for rheas or emus under the age of 3 months.....An old carpet or something soft is ok for the babies under three months old.....Ratite grower should be fed to them... A heat lamp is a must at under three months.

Eggs (Emu and Rhea)
The interesting thing about Emu's and Rheas's is the after the female lays her eggs, the male will sit on the nest. once the eggs are hatched, the male also cares for them.. The Emu eggs are green. The rhea eggs are tan. they are very large eggs. They taste exactly like chicken eggs, except much bigger. (about 5-6 inches long) one rhea egg will make a nice big omelet. (see picture of Emu and Rhea Eggs)
There are other species where the male sits on the eggs: read below:

Many thanks to Todd Wood for additional information below about other male species that care for eggs and babies
Well as far as penguins go specifically the male Emperor Penguins can endure temperatures below -20 degrees C for several months without food while incubating their single egg during the Antarctic winter. Directly after the female lays the egg the male places it between his feet and stands guard until the egg has hatched. The female will bring food to the male in order to keep him alive as well since he absolutely can not move.

Seahorses males actually carry the young inside them and give live birth to the babies. I think they are actually the only male species to carry young internally to birth.

Yet another animal is the Panamanian poison-arrow frog in which the male sits upon the eggs keeping them moist until they hatch. Once they hatch its the male's job to carry each tadpole to water upon his back.

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General Information on Rhea's and Emu's
Emu's and Rhea's can run up to 40 miles an hour. They are excellent swimmers,. however, Rocky our emu has access to our pond anytime he wants, but I have never seen him go in the pond. but I have heard in the wild they will swim..

These type of birds are very interesting to watch. They don't eat much. Overall they are pretty easy to care for.
However, there is one concern. Emus are susceptible to parasites. There is preventative medicine for this. One good preventative would be Ivomec. You can get this in injectable or paste. One thing you do not want is a emu or rhea with parasites. It is NOT a pretty site. They suffer a slow painful death. If this is not caught early, there is nothing that can be done...

Please see message board for more information on emus. http://sybilsden.com/bb/

A lot of people ask what we do with them in the winter.. they have several houses they can go into if it gets cold, but the cold weather, snow and rain don't bother them. in fact they love the rain. They have a lot of feathers to keep them warm.. The only time I have seen them go inside is if the weather gets below 0. But, I would suggest housing for an emu with plenty of straw. Sometimes, I would have to walk Rocky into his house when it was 20 degree or lower. seems once he gets there, he stays in..

Emus also get along fine with most other animals. Emu's are easy going ratites. I sometimes put Rocky in the pen with the llamas and never had a problem. Generally, emus and Rheas prefer NOT being alone. They like to be around another emu or other animals and of course people.