Warning to perspective first-time emu owners!

[PamKGlickman51]

Do you think a female Emu or for that matter any emu if we raised it from a baby can beloose in a corral with a miniature horse, miniature cow, miniature lamb and sheep. We do petting zoos for children and also animal therapy. We do have a large chicken coop but I think too small for an emu. Are emus nasty or can they be raised to be gentle around children? How high do the corrals have to be so they can not jump out. Are they walkable on a leach? Sorry for silly questions but I would be first time owner.
Pam in San Diego

 

[appps]

Do you think a female Emu or for that matter any emu if we raised it from a baby can beloose in a corral with a miniature horse, miniature cow, miniature lamb and sheep. We do petting zoos for children and also animal therapy. We do have a large chicken coop but I think too small for an emu. Are emus nasty or can they be raised to be gentle around children? How high do the corrals have to be so they can not jump out. Are they walkable on a leach? Sorry for silly questions but I would be first time owner.
Pam in San Diego

Our local animal park has one you can go in the pen with to feed the kangaroos/it. No way I would ever let my kids in there with it though. They are quite intimidating to be honest in a lot of ways and I would not like to think about the damage they could do to a small child.

Personally I don't think that with the unpredictability of children they are petting zoo material on a leash or in a small corral area. (This is assuming we are talking the same thing as petting zoo, small transportable fenced area set up at fairs and fetes etc that the kids go in and pet animals)
You can feed them by hand if brave enough because they are fast snappers of food off your hand which most younger kids would find a bit scary as its a big beak coming from high up. Also they don't let you pet them like other petting zoo animals.

 

[Ashburnham]

I had some friends on a farm that had a cow, a sheep and an emu that had bonded and stayed together all the time and
went everywhere together.

xxxx M

 

[The Sheriff]

Yikes I wouldn't trust an emu in a petting zoo. They can snatch a diamond earring out in a millisecond and can bruise and break the skin when they peck. They can also panic if cornered and kick hard enough to break ribs. I once tried to extricate one of my boys who was caught between the fence and gate. He kicked me hard enough to rip my jeans and left an emu footprint bruise on my leg with puncture wounds from the toenails. My grandchildren have been around my emus but I never let strangers kids in with them. My neighbor at at last house has an equine therapy program and she had to sign a waiver to get insurance acknowledging that if she brought in emus, her policy was voided.

 

[BaliNaiJJFarms]

We are looking at getting an Emu. We have plenty of land and are researching the space for one. Can they jump? What is the ideal Height and space they is Safe and healthy for 1-2?

 

[birdeo]

They can jump 5 feet or more when grown and you def. don't want that barb wire in/around emus.
6 foot fence and "at least" a 20x50 foot size pen for two grown emus would be good.
They like to run and hit fences when excited so more length ( and again no barb wire) in the pen the better .

 

[ES Emus]

They can jump 5 feet or more when grown and you def. don't want that barb wire in/around emus.
6 foot fence and "at least" a 20x50 foot size pen for two grown emus would be good.
They like to run and hit fences when excited so more length ( and again no barb wire) in the pen the better .

20 X 50' is nowhere near large enough for an adult emu

 

[coffeegirl123]

We have 6 emu's that are healthy and happy. We let them roam with all of our flock on our 25 acre field. Everything is fenced so we don't worry too much if they get out. We only worry when there is the fourth of July and New Years....when fireworks or gunshots go off....I remember that we had to go out and get 3 of them back in our field because they got scared. They love the open area to roam. I am glad we live on a farm.

 

[yinepu]

Quote:
I think that measurement was from the emu farms where they were raising them for meat production... the idea is to keep them in smaller pens so the ranchers can keep more emu per acre... then butcher when they hit the desired weight.. unfortunately that info is still out there in books and on the web... and not meant for people who are raising them as pets..

I pretty much advise that if you have enough room to keep a horse happy with room to roam.. then you should have enough room for an emu...

 

[Ellamumu]

I think that measurement was from the emu farms where they were raising them for meat production... the idea is to keep them in smaller pens so the ranchers can keep more emu per acre... then butcher when they hit the desired weight.. unfortunately that info is still out there in books and on the web... and not meant for people who are raising them as pets..

I pretty much advise that if you have enough room to keep a horse happy with room to roam.. then you should have enough room for an emu...

Maybe the poster missed a 0 and meant 200X50....