EMU FARMS

The emu, which features on the Australian coat of arms, is Australia's largest bird. It can grow up to two metres tall and an adult bird can weigh over 50 kgs. It can't fly but can run at speeds of nearly 50 kilometres an hour. The emu can also swim. The eggs are incubated by the male, who also rears the young. Emus were hunted and eaten by the Aborigines and feature in many rock paintings and later bark paintings. The emu appears in many Aboriginal dreamtime stories and more recently in children's story-books, art works and even songs. It's feathers have been used to decorate the hats of some Australian soldiers, although those serving overseas used to describe them as 'kangaroo feathers'. The emu is not on any endangered species list and in some areas is considered a pest. In the picture below the emu is the emblem for the Orange Emus Rugby Club.

Although hunting and eating emus is not a new thing in Australia the commercial farming of emus is. In the 1970s an Aboriginal group were allowed to capture 400 emus from the wild and experiment with farming them for for their skins. In 1987 the offspring of these initial birds were used to establish other farms and hence the current emu farming industry has grown. However the bird is not only bred for its leathery skin but also for its meat, eggs, feathers and emu oil.

Emus are suitable to most climatic conditions found in Australia and being soft footed they do little damage to the soil. There is a strict code of practice as to how the birds should be treated and the farms managed. No birds are allowed to be taken from the wild and there are strict fencing requirements to prevent the escape of birds as well as to stop wild birds getting onto the farms.

On the farms the birds lay around forty eggs a year. Once they are hatched the young are kept in a shed at night until the stage where they lose their stripes, around 3 months. At the age of about fourteen months the birds become large enough to be slaughtered and used for a number of products.

Emu leather is soft and because the area around the feather follicles is raised, when tanned it gives a neat dot pattern. This is used for hand bags, boots, wallets and clothing. It is also sort after by craft workers. The leather around the emu's leg is similar to snake or crocodile leather in appearance and so is used for belts and watch bands.

Emu meat is gamey in flavour (no not like chicken) and contains less than 0.05% cholesterol. However it seems to have found more acceptance in Europe rather than Australia. Emu steaks and emu pies still seem to fall into the novelty category here.

While the eggs can and have been eaten the birds do not lay regularly enough to make the farming of them viable(If I was trying to pass something that size out of my rear end I would not want to be doing it often or regularly either). Of course not a lot of households need the equivalent of a dozen hen eggs every morning. The eggs are sort after for carving and for jewellery.

One product which has gained in acceptance and popularity is emu oil. Australian Aborigines have used the oil for thousands of years to treat aches and pains. Now the oil has become mainstream as science supports the claims being made about it. The oil is able to penetrate deeply and is naturally anti inflammatory. It is particularly useful in the treatment of pain associated with arthritis. Emu oil can also be used to treat eczema and other skin conditions. The oil can be rubbed on externally or taken internally as capsules. The oil has also been used in cosmetic and skin care products.

The Try-It Emu Farm at Marburg in Queensland (where most of these photographs were taken) also sells a unique product in the form of 'cartilage powder' called Osteo Be Gone. After studying the benefits of shark cartilage the farm at Marburg came up with a world first Emu cartilage powder which helps in treating arthritis and cartilage degeneration. The powder contain all of the essential 18 amino acid,chondroitin sulphate, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron and copper.

The farm at Marburg has been in operation for the past 17 years. They now have over 2,000 birds and have spent the last four years building up stock and developing new products. They are processing birds again now. Beside oil and cartilage powder they sell emu meat, feathers (for decoration and craft, and to the Australian army) and blown emu eggs. Only blown eggs are sold so that the fertile eggs can not be incubated and hatched. To breed emus a person requires a license.