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Keeping Emu
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Emu need a minimum of an acre of land to have the space to run, but there is no limit to how many emu can go into that space (within reason); it is often down to the temperaments of the birds and how they get a long. Emu are happiest with the company of other emu and thrive with their own kind as oppose to other animals. An environment which is natural with grasses, trees and shrubs and plenty of running room is most beneficial. Fencing is an important factor when considering your emu space, they need fencing in. If they are happy they will not want to escape but are not able to be kept free ranging in open pasture. They are not natural escapees and don’t seek to get out, but if they are startled or chased, they can easily jump or climb a fence. So, fencing needs to be a minimum of six feet; trying to coax an emu back to its field is not always that easy. Deer fencing of the metal kind, not the plastic sort you get in the US (6ft / 2m) wide) is great for emu and the cheapest option for a large area. Electric fencing doesn’t work on emu as they are too well insulated. Barbed wire should never be used as they can severely hurt themselves on it and wires going across are totally useless for emu as they will just fall through the gaps in the wire. Their feet will rip straight through chicken wire and rabbit wire and this type of wire fence will not last long. |
Any fence posts will need to go deep in to the ground and be firmly secured since emu can run in to fencing. They also like to pace fence lines and the edging around fencing can recede over time. Gravel can be used around the fence line to prevent this.
Information on housing chicks can be found on the Caring For Emu Chicks page.
Grass is ideal as a substrate for emu, it is natural and will encourage bugs that they like to eat, likewise with dirt. Keeping a natural substrate helps any mess naturally biodegrade and mess can be raked up easily. Young and juvenile emu are fine on rough concrete for a while, it is easy to pressure wash or hose to clean, although the surface will need to be a little rough to avoid being slippery, especially when wet. Artificial grass is becoming more popular but it is worth remembering that emu make a lot of mess and defecate a lot, artificial surfaces such as artificial grass can be a breeding ground for bacteria and disease.
Information on housing chicks can be found on the Caring For Emu Chicks page.
Grass is ideal as a substrate for emu, it is natural and will encourage bugs that they like to eat, likewise with dirt. Keeping a natural substrate helps any mess naturally biodegrade and mess can be raked up easily. Young and juvenile emu are fine on rough concrete for a while, it is easy to pressure wash or hose to clean, although the surface will need to be a little rough to avoid being slippery, especially when wet. Artificial grass is becoming more popular but it is worth remembering that emu make a lot of mess and defecate a lot, artificial surfaces such as artificial grass can be a breeding ground for bacteria and disease.
Housing isn’t always necessary; you could spend a fortune on a lovely barn or emu shelter that they may not go in. Some emu don’t like being inside and would much prefer to shelter under trees. However, if there are no trees in their field, it would be worth providing some kind of shelter for them, which would also be a good option if you’d like the fathers to sit.
Trees also provide lots of lovely natural forage for them, and they do love a good forage! Try and keep their environments as natural as possible, so let the weeds and herbs grow, and let the trees overhang to create shade and forage. They will eat all of these, and seem to instinctively know what they can eat.
Emu are quite happy in all weathers, from snow to the hottest days of summer. When it is very hot they really appreciate a hosing down, paddling pool or muddy puddle to wallow in. You will need some way of keeping their food dry in wet weather. As with other ratites, the emu has great homeothermic ability, and can maintain this status from −5 to 45 °C (23 to 113 °F). The thermoneutral zone of emus lies between 10 and 30 °C (50 and 86 °F). As with other ratites, emus have a relatively low basal metabolic rate compared to other types of birds.
You will probably find that emu will hang around the entrance gate, or wherever they might find humans, for attention or interaction; they are social and nosey birds. They like to pace and hang around the edges of their space, so put fence posts in deep, because the perimeter may recede over time with their pacing.
Trees also provide lots of lovely natural forage for them, and they do love a good forage! Try and keep their environments as natural as possible, so let the weeds and herbs grow, and let the trees overhang to create shade and forage. They will eat all of these, and seem to instinctively know what they can eat.
Emu are quite happy in all weathers, from snow to the hottest days of summer. When it is very hot they really appreciate a hosing down, paddling pool or muddy puddle to wallow in. You will need some way of keeping their food dry in wet weather. As with other ratites, the emu has great homeothermic ability, and can maintain this status from −5 to 45 °C (23 to 113 °F). The thermoneutral zone of emus lies between 10 and 30 °C (50 and 86 °F). As with other ratites, emus have a relatively low basal metabolic rate compared to other types of birds.
You will probably find that emu will hang around the entrance gate, or wherever they might find humans, for attention or interaction; they are social and nosey birds. They like to pace and hang around the edges of their space, so put fence posts in deep, because the perimeter may recede over time with their pacing.
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When they are chicks they will eat ratite chick crumb, formulated specially for the diets of ostrich and emu. They should be given fresh fruit and veg too. It won’t be long until they are eating growers pellets (Dodson and Horrell, and Charnwoods are available in the UK, Mazuri in the US). They are then to be fed layers pellets as they are nearing their first breeding season. (They go on to layers pellets for adulthood.) Emu will eat around 1.5 Lb of feed a day. It is tempting to add a bit of ordinary chicken layers pellets to their feed, but it isn’t advised, as chicken feed is often medicated, and it is thought that medicated chicken food is not good for emu. It is easy to make the mistake of doing this, and once they get the taste for chicken layers it is hard to get them away from it to eat their ratite pellets. Also, it is worth noting that emu do not have a long enough digestive tract to properly digest corn. Lots of seasonal field forage, in the way of weeds and hedgerow herbs, is very beneficial and will save you a fortune in fruits and vegetables. They seem to instinctively know what they can and can’t eat. They like the leaves on some of the trees too, such as Ash and Blackthorn. Emu have different tastes, what one emu likes doesn’t always stand for another. They can injure their eyes on Blackthorn but they do love the sloe berries and leaves. If they should injure their eyes from a tree like Blackthorn or Hawthorn, spray the eye with Colloidal Silver, which usually clears up minor injuries in a day. (Further information about eyes is on the Emu Health page). It is great to be able to give them some natural forage, but if you can’t, then make sure that their diet has lots of fruits, veggies and in particular leafy greens. Most seem to like spinach, cabbage, greens and similar veggies. They may dig around for insects too, and even small mice. Properties of various brands of emu feed are available in the News and articles section A useful guide showing the nutrition needed by emu. |
It is not always easy to get hold of ratite pellets (sometimes sold as ostrich feed). A local independent farm supply shop should be able to order it in from their suppliers, such as Charnwoods (UK) or Dodson and Horrell (also UK) or Mazuri (US), your local supplier may be keen to, if they know it will be a regular order for them. You can also order straight from the maker, but may need to order in large quantity in some countries. Quite often ratite pellets are available from Amazon online in some countries. It is not recommended to feed emu the feed of other animals since the vitamin and mineral content will not be correct for their diet. For example, sheep feed will not have enough copper, and other animal feed may not have enough protein, vitamins E and B complex, which are essential for growing emu.
Water must be available to them continually; they drink quite a lot in the summer. They will drink from muddy puddles too, they are not fussy! If their water is located low enough, or in a trough, then they will quite possibly bathe in it too. They LOVE water!
Containers for emu food will need to be kept dry and away from rain. Emu feed can harbour bacteria and mould once wet. Once feed has gone mouldy it must be removed to avoid illness.
There is information about the feeding of emu chicks and youngsters on the Caring For Emu Chicks page.
Water must be available to them continually; they drink quite a lot in the summer. They will drink from muddy puddles too, they are not fussy! If their water is located low enough, or in a trough, then they will quite possibly bathe in it too. They LOVE water!
Containers for emu food will need to be kept dry and away from rain. Emu feed can harbour bacteria and mould once wet. Once feed has gone mouldy it must be removed to avoid illness.
There is information about the feeding of emu chicks and youngsters on the Caring For Emu Chicks page.
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Emu love people, and they love a fuss and attention. They need to be with other emu to thrive in captivity, so shouldn’t be kept on their own. They do well in pairs or kept as a ‘mob’ of emu. Emu can entertain themselves quite easily, and love lots of natural forage from the trees and plants that grow around their field enclosure. As mentioned above they also love water, including water sprays, sprinklers and non-slip paddling pools (if necessary, line the bottom with a piece of carpet, surf board grip tape works well). They also like wallowing in mud. Emu would love a pond, although not essential, but if they were to have one they would need easy access in and out, water a meter deep wouldbe fine for them. Emu get on fine with other animals too, although goats have a tendency to strip them of their feathers (this can be fatal to the goat) once they get a taste for it. If an emu has grown up with them then they may stamp on ducks, though seem fine with other poultry! |
When purchasing ‘an emu’, you would be advised to keep more than one, they are highly social and thrive with their own species, they can get rather depressed on their own.
Emu are curious about almost anything, especially if you take something new to them; so do keep a look out for loose nails, screws, bolts, earrings and any other shiny things that they could swallow. If it is shiny then they will investigate it!
Identification
All emu have very different faces, so in a small mob of emu you should be able to tell them apart. In a large mob or commercial flock you may want to think about some kind of identification. For chicks coloured, or numbered leg rings can be useful, starting at size 16mm and going up to 20mm for chicks (more info on this can be found on the Caring For Emu Chicks page). Sterilized identification chips can also be used. ID chips can be administered as soon as the chick hatches and are usually placed to the left side of the pipping muscle, 2 to 3 cm below the ear. Being able to identify your emu can help with record keeping, the recovery of stolen birds and rehoming of escaped birds.
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