Deogratias: An Ostrich, Emu and more

Last Saturday Nicholas, Andrew and I made the trek almost to the South Carolina border to pick up some hens and a rooster we had ordered, and as a bonus we got to tour an emu farm. My timekeeper tells me it took 1 hour and 50 minutes to get there, but it was well worth the trip. We got to see and touch numerous feathered creatures, as well as a few mammals.

Upon arrival we were greeted by the farmers, their dogs and a little cockatiel in a cage. Inside the enclosed garage we saw eggs, feathers and lots of emu products on shelves. We learned that emu make nutritious food and valuable oils.

This is the actual color of the emu egg.

It's cousin the ostrich lays the largest egg on earth.

After passing the chicken coop and seeing some Araucana hens which lay green-blue eggs, we entered the pasture.

This emu normally stays in a pen, but his neighbor the ostrich has been kicking the fence and frightening him so the owners are letting him roam around.

I wish I could capture the cuteness of the ostrich's face.

This is a Rhea and I sure wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alley, or anywhere except a well secured fence. He's protecting his lady and the egg she layed. Apparently his weapon of choice is to take you're loose skin and twist it. The white color is pretty rare.

I'm thinking about buying some of this Muscovy Duck's offspring. They're quackless ducks and they love to eat all sorts of pesky insects.

Donkey

Steer

and goats.

Nicholas took some photos on the way to and from the farm.

Then, at home we let the our nine new hens and new rooster forage for a while. It started getting late though and they had to find a place to sleep.

This ladder will do for some, while others found a roosting spot on the sawhorses in the corner. After they fell asleep we picked them up one at a time and placed them on the roosts in the chicken house, and in the morning when they woke they were friends with the others. Chickens are so fun!