BastyPutt
Yes, your Polish is a cockerel...
Ok - I got into an Emu YouTube/researching spiral of doom last night. And as I wake up this morning, I'm trying to conceive a plan to get a few here. I have a few questions, and hoping you all may have some time to answer them
Step one: somehow convince wife.
- Level of difficulty; 99 of 100
Obviously on my own here. But hoping some of these answers will help.
Utility -
Does an Emu actually have a utility? Ie a chicken lays and egg. A goat can be milked.
Obviously we have tons of "pets" that have no utility other than bringing us joy. A majority of American dogs would fall into this category.
But after watching all the videos last night, aside from being able to sell really expensive hatching eggs, I couldn't figure out if anyone used them for a purpose.
Space:
We have just over 1/4 of an acre, fenced off with 36" post and beam fencing, available for a new farm friend. We live in the "high desert". It is dry here, native "soil" is very sandy and pen is full of weed/plants. Nothing noxious as we rotate the goats in there around July to knock down the foliage. Is this enough space, high enough fence, and landscape for a pair of emus?
Note: this fenced area is within a fenced pasture that grows orchard grass. I considered perhaps allowing them to range in the acre, but they seem to not listen to anything or anyone. I am not certain how I would control them if they had so much room to run. Either way, both have a lean-too for shelter and sleeping.
Breeding: would a pair result in the female being overbred? I'm not interested in selling anything, just to add something new to the farm here. They seem super silly and enjoyable.
Weather: we are about 5500 of elevation, w/ temps that routinely drop well below 0 deg. Average temp in late December to mid February is around 20 degrees, with overnight temps reaching -20. We can supplement heat anywhere, but I usually prefer not to.
That's it for now. Any help would be appreciated
Step one: somehow convince wife.
- Level of difficulty; 99 of 100
Obviously on my own here. But hoping some of these answers will help.
Utility -
Does an Emu actually have a utility? Ie a chicken lays and egg. A goat can be milked.
Obviously we have tons of "pets" that have no utility other than bringing us joy. A majority of American dogs would fall into this category.
But after watching all the videos last night, aside from being able to sell really expensive hatching eggs, I couldn't figure out if anyone used them for a purpose.
Space:
We have just over 1/4 of an acre, fenced off with 36" post and beam fencing, available for a new farm friend. We live in the "high desert". It is dry here, native "soil" is very sandy and pen is full of weed/plants. Nothing noxious as we rotate the goats in there around July to knock down the foliage. Is this enough space, high enough fence, and landscape for a pair of emus?
Note: this fenced area is within a fenced pasture that grows orchard grass. I considered perhaps allowing them to range in the acre, but they seem to not listen to anything or anyone. I am not certain how I would control them if they had so much room to run. Either way, both have a lean-too for shelter and sleeping.
Breeding: would a pair result in the female being overbred? I'm not interested in selling anything, just to add something new to the farm here. They seem super silly and enjoyable.
Weather: we are about 5500 of elevation, w/ temps that routinely drop well below 0 deg. Average temp in late December to mid February is around 20 degrees, with overnight temps reaching -20. We can supplement heat anywhere, but I usually prefer not to.
That's it for now. Any help would be appreciated