A guide on how to raise Emu

This particular type of bird is an ostrich type of bird that originated from Australia.  Emu are member of the ratite family (they are flightless birds such as Ostriches, Rhea, Cassowary and Kiwi). Emu birds are about 5′ fit tall, and they weigh between 100 to 150 pounds as an adult. Emu meat really has a high content of iron, protein and Vitamin C. This particular bird is commercially sold in some regions for their valuable meat, oil, skin and feathers. Some of the adult Emu is about 5-6 foot tall and their average weight is about 50-65kg. Some of the Emu females can lay about 30 eggs per year. One Emu egg can weight about 500-700g. Emu egg shape is like that of the chicken egg. Without been told the average age of emu is approximately 30 years. In some countries it is very easy to start a commercial Emu farm. If you actually want to venture into commercial Emu farming you really need a spacious area or land.

How to feed Emu

Under normal condition in their first 9 weeks the emu requires about 20% protein and 2750kilo calorie/kg of metabolizable energy in their feed. Then again in about 9-42 weeks the Emu requires about 16% protein and 2750kilo calorie/kg of metabolizable energy in their feed. Then again in about 42 weeks the Emu requires about 14% protein and 2750kilo calorie/kg of metabolizable energy in their feed. Also make sure that four to five weeks before the egg production the protein percentage is increased to about 21% and 29000kilo calorie/kg of metabolizable energy in their feed.

Some of the feed components

Make sure a proper amount of Vitamins like Vitamin A, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, Amino Acids (Lysine, Tryptophan), Proteins (Crude protein), and Minerals (Calcium, Zinc, and Iodine) are included in their food. Don’t forget that it is not necessary that every Emu bird require same feed. If there is lack of proper feeding it may cause diseases in the Emu birds.

How to feed the chicks

The Emu chick that is an average age of between 0-8 weeks really needs 2 pounds of feed per day and they also need to be feed several times per day. If the Emu chicks are about 2 months-14 months old, you can limit the grower feed to about 20% and then fed them free choice. 

How to feed the breeders

Emu breeder’s chick that are having an average age of about 24 months and above actually requires about 2 pounds per day but it can drops sharply to 1 pound per day. Emu Breeder’s actually requires about 21% of emu breed ration. Make sure before 1month of breeding try and give the feed to Emu breeder which has a higher protein content.

How to care for the breed

The Emu shelter and care: Make sure you select a good suitable land for setting up the commercial Emu farm.  Don’t forget that the land must have a proper availability of fresh and clean drinking water, and also a good nutritious food source. There should be availability of cheap labor, good transportation system and a suitable market. 
How to care for the baby chicks: Emu chick that is 1 day old can weigh about 370-450g. Make sure you keep the newly born chick in the incubator for about 2-3 days for proper drying. Immediately after that you can keep the chicks in the brooder and the spacing should be 4square feet per chick for the first three weeks. Make sure you keep 90oF temperature of brooding for the first ten days and then later decrease it by 5oF daily for 3-4 weeks. To ensure good growth and development a proper temperature is very important.
How to care for the growers: One thing about Emu is that they requires about 30 foot /acre of open place for running. Which means about 50 x 30 foot of open place is required for about 50 chicks. Make sure you keep the male and female separate from each other.
How to care for the breeder: The Emu can become mature at the age of about 18-24 months. Make sure the breeding Emu’s are given more vitamin and minerals in their diet. Emu birds give about 15 eggs in their first year and after the next year they begin to produce about 30-40 eggs in year.  

Some of the recommended vaccines for Emu

 The following are some of the vaccines that are required at a proper interval of time.

1. In other to protect the Emu bird form ranikhet disease at the age of 1 week, make sure you give them losata strain vaccine and at the age of 4 weeks also give them losata booster vaccine.
2. Also when they are about 8, 15 and 40 weeks you can give them mukteswar strain vaccination to also protect them from ranikhet disease.

Some of the disease in Emu birds and treatment

1. The Nematode Diseases in Emu: Some of the symptoms of this disease on Emu birds are crooked neck, head shaking, respiratory distress and sudden death.

How to treat it: You can give the Emu birds Ivermectin medicine once in every month to get rid of the nematodes.
2. The Equine encephalitis virus (EEE) disease in Emu: The symptoms include a bloody diarrhea in the Emu.
How to treat it: Make sure you give the Emu birds a probiotic treatment to control the diarrhea.
3. The Chandlurella quiscali disease in Emu: This particular disease is a parasitic disease actually caused by biting insects.
How to treat it: You can give the Emu birds a suitable vaccination to get cure from the disease or prevention should be taken from parasitic infestations.
4. The Scoliosis disease Emu: Scoliosis is a parasitic disease or in some case it can be hereditary or nutritional origin.
How to treat it: You can give the Emu birds a suitable vaccination to get cure from the disease or prevention should be taken from parasitic infestations.
5. The Ranikhet disease in Emu: This particular disease is also known as new castle disease. This disease is a very contagious disease and it is spread to every age Emu bird. Some of the symptoms of the disease are difficulty in breathing, increased death rate, fainted legs and feathers. 

How to treat it: Make sure a vaccination of R2B strain is given to the Emu birds and also repeat it when they are 40 weeks old.