Re: [gardeners] Re: compost,Emus

Allen and Judy Merten (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Wed, 28 Apr 1999 00:13:27 -0500 

Hi Rae,
    Has your family found a market for the Emu meat? With only 8 left I'm not
looking for a market of course, just curious.  Emu ranching in Texas appears to
have died hard.
    They seem to be an ideal bird for the small homesteader.
Allen
Bastrop Co.
SE Central Tx.

Murray, Raelene (K. Wilkie, MP) wrote:

> Another emu fan - shucks, kinda glad I am not alone.  My family has an emu
> farm (about 1800 birds at the moment).  And emu steaks are just my favorite
> meat.  Mind you emu hamburger and emu sausages aren't bad either!
>
> Rae
>
>         -----Original Message-----
>         From:   Allen and Judy Merten [SMTP:jbmerten@swbell.net]
>         Sent:   Sunday, 25 April 1999 1:48 PM
>         To:     gardeners@globalgarden.com
>         Subject:        Re: [gardeners] Re: compost,Emus
>
>         Hi Penny,
>             We were given 18 Emus by a person that thought they were going
> to get
>         rich raising and selling Emus. The market never developed. However
> pairs of
>         Emus went for as much as $35,000, more commonly a pair went for
> $15,000. Emu
>         eggs were sold for as much as several hundred dollars each.
>             We have been raising them like livestock and we now have 8 left.
>         Actually there are 11 left but 3 escaped. It is very difficult to
> recapture
>         an escaped Emu in a large pasture. It can run 30 mph and turn on a
> dime,
>         leaving 9 cents change. Emus are quite formidable (125 lbs.) at
> close
>         quarters and can do severe damage by kicking, breaking bones or
> inflicting
>         severe lacerations. Just about the only way to recover the 3 that
> escaped is
>         to shoot them when the meat is needed. The smallest pasture in which
> one of
>         the Emus is now residing is 30 acres. We attempted to recapture it
> using 4
>         people on foot and one one a dirt bike. The Emu evaded all attempts
> to
>         recapture it.
>             Roping Emus is pretty damaging to them. If you rope one around
> the neck
>         it fights the rope until nearly sufficated and passes out. Usually
> they
>         recover. Roping one around the legs, a hard scaly area like a
> chickens leg,
>         doesn't work because the rope slides right off the legs.
>             They are easily handled in a smaller area like a pen or corral
> because
>         you can grab their wings and then walk them to their destination.
> This
>         requires two, calm, levelhead people. Their wings are about the size
> of a
>         chickens wing. They do not like to enter a trailer with a roof on
> it.
>             We are going to keep a pair. They will have free movement on our
> four
>         acres and hopefully nest and raise young birds. Their eggs are such
> a bright
>         green that they do not look like a "natural" bird egg, more like an
> Easter
>         egg. A friend of ours was given 6 Emus and has 4 left. The one hen
> laid eggs
>         in three nests and the 3 males incubate the eggs and protect the
> young. The
>         hen is through with the whole deal after she lays the eggs. This is
> one bird
>         species that is female dominated. The female Emus have to be keep
> seperate
>         from other females when they reach maturity or the "alpha" female
> will kill
>         the other females. My friends hen laid 15 eggs and the 3 males
> hatched 14
>         eggs. They take good care of the chicks.
>             The Emu manure we come by in the course of feeding the birds.
> The meat
>         of the Emu is a good substitute for beef. It is red meat, like
> sirloin, not
>         at all like poultry. It has a wonderful taste and texture. You can
> use it in
>         the place of beef and not wish you were eating something else
> instead. The
>         Emu liver is better than beef liver, milder tasting, and more
> tender.
>             Allen
>             Bastrop Co.
>             SE Central Tx.
>         penny x stamm wrote:
>
>         > Allen, I thought you were kidding us when you said you had
>         > emu (steaks?) for dinner a few days ago...  Now you have emu
>         > manure..  I must have missed something along the way.....
>         >
>         > How come?
>         >
>         > Penny, NY
>         >
>         >
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