What ever happened to the emu fad ? In the 1990s , it seemed like emu would be the leaner , greener , red meat alternative that would give the beef industry some real competition . But the market take a usurious nose dive , and American ranchers desert , euthanized and even arrange free thousands of emu . Some rancher had lose five - digit investments in stock breeder birds . If you are consider taking emus on as a niche farm animal , make certain you understand their born behavior and can put up for their distinct needs . Shutterstock
Have You Met an Emu?
Most people have n’t seen one up close , and that ’s for good reason . Even though emu are innocently curious about humans , they are a very recently domesticated animal , and their scrap - or - flight inherent aptitude is more like contend - or - play ( because they are flightless ) . They have few natural predators , many of which have gone extinct , but those self - defense instincts are as sharp as the claw that slant their six - inch toe at the end of passing powerful leg that spring and kick .
Emus are native to Australia , where it was illegal to commercially breed emus until the 1990s . The self-aggrandising birds have run furious in the outback for about 80 million years , surviving and migrating through diverse ecosystems , including grasslands , forest and scrubland . They graze on a wide diversity of plant types , eating grasses , fruits , seeds and shoot , plus a wide kitchen stove of worm . Rather than a sharp-worded schnoz of a predatory bird or even that of a chicken that pecks around the earth for seed , the Emu novaehollandiae has a softer hooter that is well suited for grazing . Shutterstock
Little Wings, Big Legs
Emus belong to the group of large - incarnate , flightless bird call ratites , which also admit ostriches , cassowary , kiwis and Pterocnemia pennata . By the time they ’re 6 calendar month old , emus can place upright as marvellous as 6 feet and weigh as much as 150 pounds . They can hold up as retentive as 30 years and bring forth eggs for about half of their lifespan .
In emus , nature has redistributed the power that most birds have on their breastbone for fly . around the same amount of muscle it would take a birdie of this size of it to beat its wings is present in the monumental , strong peg instead of the wing . The weight of those big bodies beat the ground is buffer by porous , pneumatic femurs , which are the only bones in this bird ’s body that are like those of airborne birds . Also , thick cushion trudge the bottom of emus ’ feet . These feet have been know to crush through metal fence or but leap over them .
Like other animals that make it in abrasive mood such as thecamel , emus are drought - tolerant . Their feathers have two textures with at least two functions . Soft and fluffy feathers near the body isolate the dame and protect it from overheating ; longer , thread - similar feathers breed those and give a grassy appearance that makes good disguise . Their middle have nictitating membrane to protect against malarky and guts . Emus have adjustment for juiceless , frigid weather too ; their complex os nasale passages trap and concentrate wet from the air travel and adds that much more water to an internal repositing system . Yet another similarity to camels is the emu ’s fatty storage pad on its back and noteworthy capacity for keep a stable consistence temperature despite extreme change in weather .
Emu Dads Get Broody
Unlike most bird specie , female put on displays to attract male and aggressively fight with competing female . Male emus establish the nest and , other than laying the egg , do all the typical mothering . They educate a brood maculation , incubate eggs , provender chicks and fiercely defend their youthful . Female emus often are promiscuous and mate with a few dissimilar Male , some of which incline the egg of other Padre . Emus are not very social animals and do n’t form flocks or herds unless they are migrating . However , they do take form close syndicate bonds as both parents parent a chick until it is fully produce .
Despite all the hype that surrounded Dromaius novaehollandiae selling two or three decades ago , the big bird has fade into the fringes of belittled farms once again . Maybe it ’s better that fashion . The securities industry wreck might have been a concentrated lesson , but we might demand to find out that some raspberry should stay wild and feed free , no matter how much meat they carry .
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