- Nov 9, 2013
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I am well aware of what a troublemaker I seem on this issue. Over 12 years on this forum, however, we've seen again and again and again photos of sad emus pacing the fences of small enclosures -- some of those enclosures probably illegal by Australian standards.
The trouble is that folks have a little farm. Got happy chickens and a doggie and a miniature horse. Then they reason that whatever size of enclosure they do have . . . well, that'll be enough! They hatch a couple of eggs; but within 18 months, those 'cheepers' are six feet tall!
If you have two or three -- 'cause one emoo is a lonely emoo -- and they engage in quite standard territorial conflicts once they hit about 18 months, you'll be struggling to fence of some area so Emoo One doesn't kill Emoo Two. To watch two emus lock gazes and then attack each other is to understand that they are 99.9% dinosaur.
Emus are not as ornery as ostriches or cassowaries. And they may well remain sweeties (especially if given a lot of attention when young) all their lives. But yes, 'football field' (with 6' fence) is the sort of scale you gotta think about.
This is one of the sookey females. She is on tippy toes, looking at my camera -- but I am 6'2", and she's on eye level with me.
This is the legendary Greedy the Emu (female). To you and I she represents absolutely no threat whatsoever. (My party trick is that I let her snatch prunes from between my lips.) But if you are an emu, and she decides she doesn't like you, then you are in real trouble. I've seen her single-handedly attack and drive from the house-clearing a dozen wild emus at a time.
Emus are wonderful. If you are up for the challenge, get some, and post reports here. But they're big. They require large amounts of area to be at all happy. They eat a lot. They are a real problem vis a vis veterinary assistance. They may live twenty years in captivity -- and did I mention that they're big?
Supreme Emu, Lake Muir, Western Australia
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