Need Help Introducing Emus

[Curiouser]

Hi! I'm new around here, and could use some help. Here's the story: I work on a private ranch in Southern California where we take care of lots of different animals. One of them is a male emu named Big Bird (that's what happens when the owners let their toddler grandson name animals, lol!). He lives in a big field (which is able to be separated into as many as four fenced-in pastures if necessary) with three buck goats, an alpaca, and two Great Pyrenees dogs. He gets plenty of roaming space, fresh water (of course), food pellets and he also gets grapes as a treat. The owners think he's lonesome, so they're buying a female emu and bringing her over as soon as this Wednesday! She'll be coming from an emu farm, so she'll have a certificate of health (and they don't want to do a quarantine on her). My question is this: How do I introduce the two emus? Should they be in separate pastures for some amount of time, or can she come right in?

 

[1muttsfan]

Definately separate pastures until you see if they will get along. Emus are solitary, not flock birds, and some do not tolerate other Emus very well.

 

[Curiouser]

Ah, thank you so much!

 

[1muttsfan]

And welcome to BYC

 

[drumstick diva]

Yes, have them meet over a fence. For more emu information go to the EMU threads on BYC. I found them to be very interesting, even though I could never have them.

Several chicken people have emus and the ones they incubated were much more sociable and obedient. They did want to stomp small animals like cats & dogs & chase chickens that flew into their pasture.

 

[birdeo]

agree, separate them and feed/water at a common dividing fence line.
Once you see they are not fighting through the fence and are resting /sleeping at it together you can open the fenceline up and see how it goes. Emus can be notorious to fight , keep a close eye on them for a while after they are together and be prepared to separate again if need be, just in case.

 

[Curiouser]

Thank you so much, you guys! I picked her up today, and it was pretty crazy. I rode with one of my bosses for over two hours out to this ostrich ranch to get her. The guy there was not that interested in emus, but got them when he bought some ostriches from another ranch which was going out of business. There was the emu we wanted, but it became clear pretty quickly that (unlike Big Bird) she was no pet! She didn't want people anywhere near her, and was apt to kick when she felt cornered. One of the workers helped us corral her, hood her, and almost wrestled her into the trailer. We got her back home (after two more hours on the road), and with lots of help we got her into her new enclosure. She's still upset, and she and Big Bird don't seem to know how to deal with each other (thank goodness for the fence between them, though!). I'll be keeping a close eye on her (she didn't have a name so we're going with "Ladybird" for now) for the next few days, and I'm going to spend a lot of time working on her relationship with humans. So, odds are I'll be back on BYC with plenty of questions as things progress.

 

[birdeo]

glad you got her moved allright.
Just fyi, hooding works for ostriches but not emus.
Also , no emu likes to be cornered and caught ,

and when working with one always please work from the rear and out of harms way from the forward kicks .