Did you know you can get Emu eggs in the mail?!? LOL!

[Wilomn]

I think you should name it Gleep. I don't know what it's from, but it's a good name.

 

[BryonsBoas]

How are their dogs getting to the chickens? I don't remember what the pasture was fenced with. If it was fenced with barbed wire you may want to consider to refencing it with cattle fence.

Another option will be fencing in an area to let the chickens roam. If you choose this option I would suggest the galvanized metal or fiberglass roofing run 3 ft high from the bottom all the way around. You could also cover that with chain link fencing. Don't be surprised if you need to bury it 2ft all the around. Get dogs on a good one track thought and they may dig under the fence to get the chickens.

We found out a long time ago that when most folks get property that dogs can run on , they forget the fence to keep them from running on yours too. We've had to kill over a dozen of our neighbor's dogs over the years. We tried the local pound and the Sherrif's office but so many are allowed to run without borders you are left with little choice than to take matters in your hands. The same goes for cats here too.

When I bred rabbits I always had problems with neighbors dogs. We had a 8ft high wooden fence up and two dug under it to get in. I found a massacre that night. Rabbits were pulled the bottom of ripped hardware cloth , legs had ripped skin etc. Not a single one was eaten. The dogs killed them and left them laying where they dropped them.

The saying " Fences make better neighbors " seems to fall on deaf ears more and more these days.

 

[Cheryl Marchek AKA JM]

Two weeks old.

I learned something new about emu this week. They can play dead. REALLY CONVINCINGLY play dead!! Like say~ when you want to wash the emu poop off the emu’s feet (because maybe it lives in your kitchen for some bizarre reason) so you hold the emu feet under the tap water. The emu will struggle (flinging emu crap off it’s feet across the kitchen~ next time do this procedure in the bathroom!) Then~ flop over DEAD~ limp neck, limp body, mouth agape. You give the emu a little shake and it just flops. So………..well……..now would be the time to panic right? So at this point one might yank the emu out of the water and shout:

“OH GOD I KILLED IT!!” Then it will sit up~ blink and I swear I heard it say “Nanner-Nanner-Boo-Boo!” just before it bit me. Again. (yes~ it still bites)
Sorry I didn’t get a pic of that~ I was too busy panicking because I thought I killed it~ then I was trying to talk myself out of killing it for scaring the snot out of me.

It’s more than doubled it’s body weight in just the 7 days since I last weighed it. We may not be feeding it right~ but it appears we are feeding it enough! We still have not gotten the emu feed in. Special orders are slow. I was worried it was not getting enough protein in it’s diet of whatever I could find that it would eat~ so since it had turned into a pig I decided to hold out until it ate turkey feed like I wanted. I stopped cutting up all the goodies~ instead I mixed some water and turkey starter mash and left it in the crate.

When I came back there was a perfect little circle of green emu poop in the middle of the bowl of turkey mash……….I’m not kidding. Again~ I should have taken a pic but I was busy so I scooped the poop out and gave it back to the little son of a gun!!!!

It really does not like turkey food…….but apparently it does like DOG food

The picky little cuss doesn’t like ALL the dog food though. Apparently the yellow pieces are better. So it picks through slinging brown pieces of dog food across the kitchen and eating the yellow ones.

BUT~ brown pieces that have been IN THE DOGS MOUTH taste pretty good though~ so it sits next to the dog bowl and bites So-Chee every time she gets a mouth full of food~ causing her to drop those delicious pieces of dog food that had been IN her mouth!
So-chee has begun grabbing a mouth full of dog food and running across the kitchen with it to eat it! LOL! She is SUCH a good sport. She gets LOTS of treats for letting the emu pick her teeth and NOT using the emu to pick her teeth!

The little cuss really asks for it too~ last night it bit her toes until she curled all her feet under her body. Then the little son of a gun took a shot at her eye! I walked her out of the kitchen and gave her a treat for letting it live………
This morning I started giving it a gentle kick (more a shove) with my foot when it bites me. I’m hoping we can teach it to stop that before it gets to be really painful or So-chee decides it needs to learn the lesson. I thought about moving So-chee’s food out of the kitchen~ but I really want her to learn to be accepting and tolerant of livestock and pets that may be less than polite in their behavior……so poor So-chee has a new dental hygienist for the foreseeable future!

So~ it’s been two weeks………
Who else is joining the Emu in My Kitchen Club? Who’s hatching an egg next?

 

[LadyOhh]

LOL!!

If only I could!!!

Sounds like a barrel of fun!!!

 

[Uroboros]

Do you think I could pass this off without my apartment manager finding out? They don't make much noise, right?

 

[Cheryl Marchek AKA JM]

not yet~ but it craps 30-60 times a day (it lives in my kitchen~ I've learned to love Bounty~ "the quicker picker upper"!

 

[Cat_72]

I tried to warn ya about the poop Cheryl, lol....

And the poops of course get bigger as the bird does....my emu's piles rivaled that of any cow I've seen.

But they are so cute.

I'm gonna have to look back and see if I can find some of the pics we had of Bart....that was back in the days before we had digi cameras, lol. He had the prettiest blue eyes.

 

[Cheryl Marchek AKA JM]

I beleived you too Cat!
I'd love to see pics of Bart if you can find them~ meanwhile~ this weeks update for anyone who's still bothering to read this........


3 weeks old

It’s been another week. I know there were a lot of you out there claiming you were going to get an emu egg when you saw this one hatching…..so?.......well?.......come on now~ it’s not so bad having an emu living in your kitchen. It only craps about 30-60 times a day. The whole family volunteered to help take care of it after all……………

LOL! Are y’all laughing as hard as I am? You don’t think that’s a sign I’ve become unstable do you? Well…..not anymore unstable than one has to be to allow an emu to live in her kitchen right?

So~ it is 3 weeks old today. Even I have to admit it’s getting cuter:

It’s also getting BIGGER. MUCH BIGGER already! That’s the egg it hatched out of (I washed and saved the egg~ I want to glue it back together……if I EVER have free time again)

The emu food finally came in~ I’m going to pick it up on Saturday. I hope it likes it~ but if not it seems to be doing fine on dog food and cabbage/kale/lettuce free choice all day.

I’m already dreaming of building it a hoop house and moving it outside. Won’t that be great? It will be~ trust me. I keep the emu poop off the floor (LOTS of bounty and Clorox wipes!) but still! I locked it in a cage on Monday so I could mop the floor~ and I almost took a picture of my clean floor…….because I knew that was going to be a fading memory in short order!

It actually made me feel bad too. The little monster has decided I’m it’s parent~ so it panic’s when it doesn’t know where I am. Squalling and throwing it’s self into the child gates over the kitchen doors. Monday when I let it out of the cage it’s little beak was a bit torn up from rubbing the cage bars and it insisted on being with me or laying down at my feet all night. It’s really hard to be disgusted with it and want to get rid of it when it’s being all pitiful and sad……………

THEN it learned to leap the boards over the kitchen door (that’s when the child gates went up) and make a break across the house…….chirping all the way ~ I swear it sounded like giggling as I tried to snatch the weaving and bobbing little cuss!!! And it’s FAST already!

On the biting front~ apparently it can be taught. Water didn’t do the trick~ but pushing it over seems to have. It doesn’t bite me nearly as often as it used to~ unless I make the mistake of letting it get a shot at my watch. The little thief can not resist jewelry (all you ladies with expensive jewelry should come visit right away).

It’s stopped biting the cats~ they hit back (and one of the cats has claws!)

But poor So-chee………she doesn’t retaliate and she gets bit a lot! I’d actually let her give it a little lesson like I let the cats~ but I’m just as glad she doesn’t yet. I keep trying to explain to the emu that annoying So-chee by putting your head IN her mouth may NOT be conductive to continued good health……..but he doesn’t seem to get it and So-chee spends a lot of time looking like she just can’t get that annoying taste of emu out of her mouth. She takes it~ and apparently dog hair tastes almost as good as whatever is stuck in the dogs teeth……..

“It’s biting me AGAIN!”

I’m really very pleased with what a good dog So-chee is becoming~ she certainly puts up with more from that little emu than any one else in the house will! Now……do you think I could teach her to scoop emu crap?

 

[Cat_72]

Those are great pics (and narrative!) Cheryl!!! I love it!

As for hatching one myself, eh....I think I'll continue living that thought vicariously through you.

I'm going to make digging up those pics of Bart (one of) my projects for this weekend.....if I have time. If I remember correctly, they were all REALLY close up shots of him, because the camera was kind of shiny and reminded him of expensive jewelry, perhaps lol.

 

[LadyOhh]

SOOOOOOOO CUTE!!!!!!

 

[texasnewbie]

Have you had any more problems with the neighbours dogs?

 

[BryonsBoas]

HAHAHAHA , the crazy ol bird lady is getting pecked into insanity.

 

[akaangela]

I love the emu updates. I have to admit you are braver than I am. I wont attempt to hatch one of them. I also have to admit it is getting cuter.

 

[Cheryl Marchek AKA JM]

Have you had any more problems with the neighbours dogs?

Not yet~ but there is not really much for them to mess with~ I have two chickens who seem to be intent on proving WHY the term CHICKEN is used for cowards.....they won't come out of the coop unless I'm standing there with bread~ then they hi-tail it back to the highest roost in the coop when the bread is gone. I have one emu.......living in the kitchen. And 13 turkeys......living in a brooder in the garage.

I've seen ONE of the dogs ONCE since it happened. I think they are trying to keep them off my property but are just not used to having to contain their dogs. The one time I saw the dog it was too smart to go into the trap (though I've caught another neighbors cat three times in that trap!) and I really don't want to shoot that dog. It is their family pet~ a 12 year old lab. I guess I'm not as mad as I was at first~ at first I really wanted to shoot that dog~ but when I had the opportunity.....I just kept praying she would go into the trap~ or lightening would strike her or something so I wouldn't have to shoot her.

Another nieghbor wants to put his cows and donkeys in my front field this year so he is coming over this weekend to help us put woven wire fencing over our barbed wire fencing in exchange for use of the field. That will hopefully keep the old dog out~ and if it's still a problem..........

There is always the loaded shotgun by the door. The dog is old and slow~ I think I could hit her. I just really don't want to.

 

[Cheryl Marchek AKA JM]

4 weeks old

Lots more cute pics this week~ Hope your not getting tired of them yet~ it’s been 4 weeks and I still can’t believe I actually hatched and am now planning to keep an emu…….

that’s a hair scrunch on his neck~ we are considering trying to teach him to walk on a leash and wanted to see how he reacts to something on his neck (and it was funny!). No problem there~ but we discovered much like you can “lead a horse to water”…………….~ you CAN put a color and leash on an emu……but you CAN NOT make him go for a walk!

No name yet~ we keep trying different names but nothing has “stuck” yet~ when we get the right name we’ll know when it “sticks”. We are trying “Dingbat” right now (morphed from Dingo to Dingbat) but I don’t think it’s gonna “Stick” either.

We finally got the emu food in~ but it won’t eat the emu food~ it still eats dog food. The vet says that should be okay (keep reading to see why I had to talk to a vet about the emu). So I’m not worrying about it. I keep the dog food and emu food out free choice all day~ and I give the lettuce and kale as treats now (discovered he will ONLY eat lettuce if available free choice all day and then get completely clear~ harder to clean up runny craps). He is growing very well~ in fact I have to shout to keep him from stealing the utensils out of the dishwasher now that he is tall enough to easily snatch them!

Of course the BEST food is still whatever is currently in So-Chee’s mouth~ and So-Chee is still being a super good sport about it all~ They are both looking at a dog treat that had been IN So-Chee’s mouth a heartbeat before the pic~ and trying to decide which one of the will eat it……….(So-Chee did~ I gave her that treat to start with~ and gave it back to her after the pic!)

We are trying to work our way up to moving him outside~ I’ve begun planning a emu house~ bought some of the supplies and hope to have time to work on it next week. Not really sure what emu real feathers look like~ so I’m not too sure how to tell when it is feathered out enough to go outside. I’ve begun putting him and the turkeys outside on nice days to get fresh air and eat some grass:

THAT’S where the problem came about. Earlier this week I put him out on a beautiful sunny afternoon~ and he started to squalling like he does sometimes. I tried putting So-Chee IN the dog kennel with him to calm him down~ but that’s when I discovered that while 13 four week old turkeys may CHOOSE to stay inside a chainlink dog kennel~ it apparently is no real barrier if the DOG comes in the kennel~ at which point all 13 turkeys squeeze down to half their size and bail out through the links!! This is very much fun for So-chee now called to attempt to catch turkeys~ but not very much fun for me or the turkeys. All the turkeys eventually wound up safely back IN the kennel and So-chee and the Dingbat had to content themselves with keeping company through the fence.

SO~
Yesterday was another nice day~ I put the emu and turkeys out for the day while I cleaned the kitchen floor. A short time later I checked on them all and I noticed the emu breathing~ LOUDLY~ mouth agape and gasping. I waited but it continued for well over an hour. So I looked up “open mouth breathing emu” online…….all I got was something about a fungus usually from dirty housing (He has VERY CLEAN housing ~ MY KITCHEN~ Thank you very much!) and that the emu would now Die……no cure~ just dead.

Well~ that’s a little worrisome. So I called my vet in Cullman.
He won’t see an emu~ told me to call a vet in Hartselle
He won’t see an emu~ told me to call a vet in Huntsville
He won’t see an emu~ told me to call a vet in Tennessee………..

Who said “You want to drive an EMU ALL THE WAY UP HERE? You know their not worth nothing anymore right?”

Yes~ I know.

“Well you want me to treat it like a dog or a pig?” (pet or livestock?)

……uuuuummmm…..well…….DANG IT! …………..Dog

We talked about the emu~ how I wound up with it (that was fun to explain) feeding habits (won’t eat the emu food I BOUGHT for it)~ living arrangements (this was turning into a nightmare to explain)……………….

We decided not to bring the emu to Tennessee when it only had ONE symptom……….especially as it was probably fooling me because it was upset about being forced to be outside like an animal rather than in my kitchen like one of the people…………..The vet had me go to TSC and buy some tetracycline just in case we see any more symptoms………and explained that’s all he can really do for the emu because if it really did have that asperillus stuff I read about online there is nothing he can do about it and the emu would really just die. (stupid thing better not ever get sick for real!). The emu breathing went back to normal when I brought in back in the house last night (OMG~ It hyperventilates when I treat it like an animal~ this is ridiculous)

So~ I had to go back to TSC………..
Which is how I wound up with………………

Apparently I have NO self control or sense

 

[Mooing Tricycle]

hahaha!!! Three little ducklings now!!!

Do you wonder if the emu was just cooling off by opening his mouth?

 

[Cheryl Marchek AKA JM]

maybe~ but it wasn't that warm yesterday~ 60F and shade was available. I think the stupid thing got worked up because it HATES to go outside unless I'm out there with it~ and because we had tried the ~ will an emu walk on a leash~ expeiriment that morning on our way outside. I only started to really worry when it continued breathing like that for well over an hour before I started looking for a vet and was still doing it an hour later when I finally found a vet who would talk to me!

 

[Wraith]

SO~
Yesterday was another nice day~ I put the emu and turkeys out for the day while I cleaned the kitchen floor. A short time later I checked on them all and I noticed the emu breathing~ LOUDLY~ mouth agape and gasping. I waited but it continued for well over an hour. So I looked up “open mouth breathing emu” online…….all I got was something about a fungus usually from dirty housing (He has VERY CLEAN housing ~ MY KITCHEN~ Thank you very much!) and that the emu would now Die……no cure~ just dead.

....

and explained that’s all he can really do for the emu because if it really did have that asperillus stuff I read about online there is nothing he can do about it and the emu would really just die. (stupid thing better not ever get sick for real!).

Aspergillosis is a non-contagious respiratory fungal infection and the spores can be found just about everywhere in the enviornment and even the food supply (peanuts are a big concern with bird foods) can potentially harbor the spores. It is when conditions are right for the fungus that it becomes a problem. For the vet to say that a bird contracts it only from dirty housing conditions is a crock and the vet knows that (or should know that).

Birds and other animals are regularly exposed to this. If spore numbers are small and the bird has a relatively healthy immune system and not subjected to predisposing factors (such as other illnesses, stress, poor nutrition, poor husbandry or unsanitary conditions, another injury to the respiratory system [i.e. smoke inhalation, chemical fumes, etc.], and prolonged use of certain medications such as antibiotics) then asper is not as likely to to cause a problem. Parrots do tend to be most prone to this illness because of the stress levels they experience in most home environments. Livestock birds can also be unduly over-exposed since wet straw/hay laying around is a prime breeding ground for this fungus.

While asper can be fatal, it is NOT un-treatable. It CAN be treated with medication. It's more of whether your vet cares enough to want to be bothered with it or not or whether the owner wants to be bothered with it (exams, medications, xrays, blood tests, etc. = $$$) . Another factor to consider depends on just how far along the disease has progressed in bird if it is able to be positively diagnosed with the disease (sadly a lot of birds are not diagnosed until a necropsy is being done on them because symptoms are hard to spot or mimic other illnesses). If diagnosed too late and even with aggressive treatment a bird too far along may not have the strength to pull through especially if there are other underlying problems present. Surgery is needed in some cases when lesions are present. Blood tests can be used to help determine if a bird is infected, but sometimes they come back with false negatives. Treatment is always best done by an avian certified vet rather than just general practitioners because they are better qualified to know how to treat birds for illnesses. If I remember rightly, Dr. Scott Stahl is avian certified in Virginia (Vienna I believe). I believe he also does consultations (and he's a reptile keeper too) so it should not be a problem to contact him (or have your regular vet call him) for references of bird vets in your area and other things to help determine if the emu is really sick or not. If your vet is a member of the Veterinary Information Network, he can also reach Dr. Stahl through that organization's website.

Our birds of prey sometimes contract asper during very wet/rainy spring/fall weather when there isn't enough dry sunny days to help dry the ground and stuff out. We have yet to lose any of our birds to it nor do we panic when one is diagnosed by our vet.

 

[BryonsBoas]

Poor Scott. He moves his wife to the country and she looses her mind. In mere months she has become the bird lady of potential nightmares. Poor , poor Scott.

If its any consolation Cheryl , Lolo wants to try her hand Emus eventually. Ours won't be in our kitchen tho.

 

[Cheryl Marchek AKA JM]

Adrian~ thank you for all the information. The vet I finally reached who would talk to me did not say Aspergillosis came from dirty housing~ thats what the website I found said and I told him. He wasn't entirely sure what if anything he could do for the emu~ he was just THE ONLY VET AT ALL I could find willing to consider even trying to treat the emu if it was sick! ~he even asked if I had called my local vet and was suprised my local vet wasn't even willing to try. Even the "Bird clinic" refused to see the emu chick or suggest anything helpful. The vet who finally did talk to me was very honest that he was no expert at emu~ only that he had a couple several years ago.......which were livestock and he eventually ate them....... His answer to get the tetracycaline and try that if I continued to see breathing issues or saw any new symptoms was the only answer he had for me~ and he was honest enough to tell me that for free over the phone rather than have me drive to Tennessee for nothing. If I continue to see symptoms I'll ask him to contact Dr Stahl and see what we can learn there~ this vet seems very friendly and honest~ willing to admit when he doesn't know......

It's breathing does seem to be better now........
because it's cold outside so it's in my kitchen again........

And Bryon~
Good luck if you do Emu~ I can't beleive I did it........we are definately the Wierd nieghbors again.