Raising Emus  For Beginners
                     Raising Emus
NUTRITION
Commercial ratite rations are available from a number of sources. Most commercial feed companies 
are producing starter, grower and breeder rations in mash or pellet form. Limits on the
addition of other sources of roughage or nutrients, such as alfalfa hay, may be recommended by the 
manufacturer. 
Protein contents vary from 16 to 22 percent. Nutritional requirements of the emu have not been 
determined by scientific research; however, similarities of the emu and chicken digestive systems 
suggest that their nutritional requirements may be similar. 
Many farmers feed newly hatched chicks a mixture of chopped greens, a commercial starter 
crumble and a vitamin/mineral supplement. The greens are thought to attract the birds to the feeder 
and stimulate feed consumption; the nutritional benefits are negligible. Water may be offered before 
food by about 12 hours. 
Grit is offered with the food although it is not necessary if feeding a processed commercial diet. 
Chicks are usually fed twice a day for about an hour. Diets are usually in a small pellet or large 
crumble form for chicks. Fiber content varies between 7 and 15 percent. Some nutritionists 
recommend fiber content between 5 and 10 percent. Diets with more
than 25 percent protein (such as dog food and catfish chow) have been associated with growth 
problems in young emu. 
Breeder diets contain additional calcium, or calcium can be offered "free
choice" in the form of oyster shell. Breeders that are too fat do not appear to reproduce as well as 
those in normal condition. Some emu producers prefer free choice feeding systems, while
others prefer one to three daily feedings. Advantages of each system are based on economics (your 
time, hired help) and personal preference. However, multiple daily feedings provide a
time for interaction with the birds, making it easier to detect illness and control an individual bird's 
weight.
REPRODUCTION
Emu reach sexual maturity at 18 months to 3 years of age. Males and females usually are paired in a 
1:1 ratio although polygamous mating (more than one female per male) has been
successful in some cases. Emu courtship consists of strutting and displaying the neck feathers by 
both the male and female. The female makes a drumming sound ("booming") and the male makes a 
grunting sound ("growling"). Allow emu to pair naturally from a communal pen or across a fence, 
and then move them to a breeder pen together. Non-compatible birds will fight. Many emu begin 
producing in their second year. Emu lay eggs in the winter months, usually between November and 
March. Eggs are laid every 3 or 4 days, with an average of 30 eggs laid per season. Some may 
produce up to 50 eggs per season.
INCUBATION AND HATCHING
The incubation period for emu eggs is 46 to 56 days with an average of 50 days. Length of 
incubation is greatly influenced by temperature. Optimal tempera-tures, 96.5 to 97.5 degrees F,
should result in an incubation of 49 to 52 days. Humidity settings should range from 24 to 35 
percent. Successful incubation of eggs in vertical, air-cell- up or horizontal positions has been 
reported. Turn eggs four to six times per day. As in the ostrich, egg weight loss is important and 15 
percent is the ideal. A weekly system of egg weighing and good record keeping are essential. Emu 
eggs are opaque, so a method called tapping replaced the candling procedure. 
Tapping the egg with a small cylindrical metal rod produces particular sounds that can be used to 
identify an egg that has internally pipped and needs to be moved to the hatcher. Hatcher 
temperatures are usually the same at the incubator or one degree less. Percent hatchability in emu 
chicks has been reported as 50 to 80 percent. It is important to keep good records because specific 
problems with hatchability are often associated with embryonic death at various points in 
incubation. Common problems include infertile eggs, bacterial infection of eggs and 
malpositioning.
FACILITIES AND MANAGEMENT
Pen size for an adult emu pair should be about 1/8 to 1/4 acre. Five-foot fencing is adequate for 
adult emu, but some sources recommend a 5 1/2 to 6-foot fence with a top rail. Alleys between pens 
(with gates opening into alleys) make it easier to move birds. Exercise pens and large pens for 
groups of birds usually are long and narrow rather than square to provide more running room. The 
facility should include an isolation or quarantine area for sick or new birds as far as possible from 
the remainder of the flock.
Newly hatched chicks cannot regulate their body heat and need a source of warmth until 3 months 
old if the outside temperature is cold. Maintain temperature at 90 to 95 degrees F for the first 3 days 
after hatch. Decrease temperature 5 degrees every 2 weeks. In warm weather, use supplemental heat 
only at night. The heat source should be of adequate size for all chicks to get around it, and the pen 
area should be large enough so the chicks can get away from the heat to avoid overheating. 
Brooder boxes for chicks 1 to 3 days old are typically about 1 foot high
and 2 x 3 or 3 x 4 feet in area per 10 chicks. Chicks may pile and smother one another. Avoid 
overcrowding, extremes of heat or cold and sudden frightening of the chicks. Piling generally
becomes less of a problem after the first few weeks. The floor of the brooding area must be easy to 
clean and have good traction. Chicks can be moved to an 8 x 8-foot nursery pen at approximately 
70 to 85 degrees F on day four and then into progressively larger pens. Encourage outside exercise 
periods and sunbathing starting at 5 to 7 days of age, depending on the weather. Separate juvenile 
groups by age and/or size into large communal pens (50 x 100 feet) or pastures. Grass usually 
survives well in emu pens except along the fence, where the birds' tendency to fencewalk kills it.
Breeding pairs select their mates in large communal pens. The female emu chooses the male and 
will become quite aggressive toward males she doesn't find suitable. In pens where adults are 
pairing up, some producers leave the corners loose to provide an escape route for birds being chased 
off by jealous rivals or angry females. These birds pop through the corner into an alley
between the pens. Sometimes aggressive females are penned separately from the males, but with a 
common fence. Usually birds that settle down together in the evening will successfully pair
up. Individual pens and shelters usually are provided for breeding pairs; however, polygamous 
arrangements have been successful.
Shelters may be made of wood, tin, fiberglass or other materials. Fiberglass is lightweight and easy 
to move (if self-contained). Fiberglass shelters are quite bright inside because of penetrating 
sunlight. Shelters with good lighting appear to encourage the emus to nest inside. Bedding, such as 
straw inside the huts, encourages inside egg laying and makes clean egg collection easier. Adult 
emus appear to be quite tolerant to cold weather. Normal reproduction (more than 30 eggs
per pair) has been reported in North Dakota in barns "heated" to 35 to 40 degrees F with an outside 
temperature of 10 degrees F.
RESTRAINT
Emus generally are docile and non-aggressive towards people. However, inexperienced handlers 
have been hurt by kicking, struggling emus. An emu crowded against a fence will, by natural 
instinct, turn and try to crowd past a person. To restrain the bird, grasp its wings at the top, get 
behind it so that it cannot kick you and push downward, as if forcing the bird to bend its
knees. To move a bird, grasp it by the chest under the wings and lift and push in the direction you 
want it to go. An adult bird used to being handled can be gently guided by the wings. Haul or
trailer emus at night because darkness seems to have a calming effect. Trailers should be enclosed, 
well ventilated and padded with a non-slip surface.
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