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The Emu (pronounced either ee-mew or ee-moo) is the largest bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. It is also the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. The soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds reach up to 2 m (6.5 ft) in height. The Emu is common over most of mainland Australia, although it avoids heavily populated areas, dense forest and arid areas. Emus can travel great distances at a fast, economical trot and, if necessary, can sprint at 50 km/h (30 mph) for some distance at a time. Season Deworming Initially, Emu were imported to the United States
prior to 1950 as exotic zoo and private collection stock. In 1960,
the Emu was designated Australia's national bird and shortly thereafter
an official Australian Governmental ban was placed upon the exportation
of the indigenous Emu. The ban is now over 30 years old and continues
to this day. The bloodlines of Emu available to the United States
are limited to those bloodlines available worldwide in zoos and
private zoological collections. Emu began to be commercially bred
in the United States in the 1980's. Well-matched Emu proved to
be highly prolific (produced lots of offspring) and were relatively
easy to commercially raise in most American climates from the
northern and cooler states of Minnesota and Maine to the arid
states of Texas and Oklahoma. Emu are generally very docile. Emu
tend to be intensely curious creatures. Emu chicks hatch from
eggs ranging in size from 400 to 900 grams in weight, with the
average being near 550 grams or about 1.25 pounds. Upon hatching,
the chicks will stand nearly 10 inches tall and they will have
a yellowish-white and black striping used to camouflage them in
the wild. At three months, the chicks have grown to 24 inches
and transition through a black head and then black body stage
as their feathers grow in. Within 6 months the chick is 4 1/2
feet tall and has attained the black, tan and brown feather coloring
of the adult and they begin to fill out in weight. As adults they
possess a soft downy feathering [since no vein runs through the
center of each double-feathered quill]. Often parts of the head,
neck and beak can display a radiant blue coloring. They are opportunistically nomadic and may travel long distances to find food; they feed on a variety of plants and insects. The Emu subspecies that previously inhabited Tasmania became extinct after the European settlement of Australia in 1788; and the distribution of the mainland subspecies has been influenced by human activities. Once common on the east coast, Emu are now uncommon; by contrast, the development of agriculture and the provision of water for stock in the interior of the continent have increased the range of the Emu in arid regions. Emus are farmed for their meat, oil and leather.
Emus are large birds. The largest can reach up to two metres (6 ft 7 inches) in height (1–1.3 metres (3.2–4.3 ft) at the shoulder) and weigh between 30 and 55 kilograms (66–121 pounds). They have small vestigial wings and a long neck and legs. Their ability to run at high speeds is due to their highly specialised pelvic limb musculature. Their feet have only three toes and a similarly reduced number of bones and associated foot muscles; they are the only birds with gastrocnemius muscles in the back of the lower legs. The pelvic limb muscles of Emus have a similar contribution to total body mass as the flight muscles of flying birds. Emus have brown to grey-brown plumage of shaggy appearance; the shafts and the tips of the feathers are black. Solar radiation is absorbed by the tips, and the loose-packed inner plumage insulates the skin. The resultant heat is prevented from flowing to the skin by the insulation provided by the coat, allowing the bird to be active during the heat of the day. A unique feature of the Emu feather is its double rachis emerging from a single shaft. The sexes are similar in appearance. On very hot days, Emus pant to maintain their body temperature, their lungs work as evaporative coolers and, unlike some other species, the resulting low levels of carbon dioxide in the blood do not appear to cause alkalosis. For normal breathing in cooler weather, they have large, multifolded nasal passages. Cool air warms as it passes through into the lungs, extracting heat from the nasal region. On exhalation, the Emu's cold nasal turbinates condense moisture back out of the air and absorb it for reuse. Their calls consist of loud booming, drumming and grunting sounds that can be heard up to two kilometers away. The booming sound is created in an inflatable neck sac. Behavior Emus live in most habitats across Australia, although they are most common in areas of sclerophyll forest and savanna woodland, and least common in populated and very arid areas. Emus are largely solitary, and while they can form enormous flocks, this is an atypical social behaviour that arises from the common need to move towards food sources. Emus have been shown to travel long distances to reach abundant feeding areas. In Western Australia, Emu movements follow a distinct seasonal pattern — north in summer and south in winter. On the east coast their wanderings do not appear to follow a pattern. Emus are also able to swim when necessary. Diet Emus forage in a diurnal pattern. They eat a variety of native and introduced plant species; the type of plants eaten depends on seasonal availability. They also eat insects, including grasshoppers and crickets, lady birds, soldier and saltbush caterpillars, Bogong and cotton-boll moth larvae and ants.[15] In Western Australia, food preferences have been observed in travelling Emus: they eat seeds from Acacia aneura until it rains, after which they eat fresh grass shoots and caterpillars; in winter they feed on the leaves and pods of Cassia[verification needed]; in spring, they feed on grasshoppers and the fruit of Santalum acuminatum: a sort of quandong. Emus serve as an important agent for the dispersal of large viable seeds, which contributes to floral biodiversity. Conservation status Emus were used as a source of food by indigenous Australians and early European settlers. Aborigines used a variety of techniques to catch the bird, including spearing them while they drank at waterholes, poisoning waterholes, catching Emus in nets, and attracting Emus by imitating their calls or with a ball of feathers and rags dangled from a tree. Europeans killed Emus to provide food and to remove them if they interfered with farming or invaded settlements in search of water during drought. An extreme example of this was the Emu War in Western Australia in 1932, when Emus that flocked to Campion during a hot summer scared the town’s inhabitants and an unsuccessful attempt to drive them off was mounted. In John Gould's Handbook to the Birds of Australia, first published in 1865, he laments the loss of the Emu from Tasmania, where it had become rare and has since become extinct; he notes that Emus were no longer common in the vicinity of Sydney and proposes that the species be given protected status. Wild Emus are formally protected in Australia under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Although the population of Emus on mainland Australia is thought to be higher now than before European settlement, some wild populations are at risk of local extinction due to small population size. Threats to small populations include the clearance and fragmentation of areas of habitat; deliberate slaughter; collisions with vehicles; and predation of the young and eggs by foxes, feral and domestic dogs, and feral pigs. The isolated Emu population of the New South Wales North Coast Bioregion and Port Stephens is listed as endangered by the New South Wales Government. Economic value The Emu was an important source of meat to the Aborigines in the areas to which it was endemic. Emu fat was used as bush medicine, and was rubbed on the skin. It also served as a valuable lubricant. It was mixed with ochre to make the traditional paint for ceremonial body adornment, as well as to oil wooden tools and utensils such as the coolamon. An example of how the Emu was cooked comes from the Arrernte of Central Australia who call it Kere ankerre: Emus are around all the time, in green times and dry times. You pluck the feathers out first, then pull out the crop from the stomach, and put in the feathers you've pulled out, and then singe it on the fire. You wrap the milk guts that you've pulled out into something [such as] gum leaves and cook them. When you've got the fat off, you cut the meat up and cook it on fire made from river red gum wood. Farmed Emu at Virginia's Emu Marketing Cooperative near Warrenton, Virginia, US.Commercial Emu farming started in Western Australia in 1987 and the first slaughtering occurred in 1990. In Australia, the commercial industry is based on stock bred in captivity and all states except Tasmania have licensing requirements to protect wild Emus. Outside Australia, Emus are farmed on a large scale in North America, with about 1 million birds in the US, Peru and China, and to a lesser extent in some other countries. Emus breed well in captivity, and are kept in large open pens to avoid leg and digestive problems that arise with inactivity. They are typically fed on grain supplemented by grazing, and are slaughtered at 50–70 weeks of age. They eat two times a day and prefer 5 pounds of leaves each meal. Emus are farmed primarily for their meat, leather and oil. Emu meat is a low-fat, low-cholesterol meat (85 mg/100 g); despite being avian, it is considered a red meat because of its red colour and pH value. The best cuts come from the thigh and the larger muscles of the drum or lower leg. Emu fat is rendered to produce oil for cosmetics, dietary supplements and therapeutic products. There is some evidence that the oil has anti-inflammatory properties; however, the US Food and Drug Administration regards pure emu oil product as an unapproved drug. Emu leather has a distinctive patterned surface, due to a raised area around the feather follicles in the skin; the leather is used in such small items as wallets and shoes, often in combination with other leathers. The feathers and eggs are used in decorative arts and crafts. Cultural references The Emu has a prominent place in Australian Aboriginal mythology, including a creation myth of the Yuwaalaraay and other groups in NSW who say that the sun was made by throwing an Emu's egg into the sky; the bird features in numerous aetiological stories told across a number of Aboriginal groups.[30] The Kurdaitcha man of Central Australia is said to wear sandals made of emu feathers to mask his footprints. The Emu is popularly but unofficially considered as a faunal emblem—the national bird of Australia. It appears as a shield bearer on the Coat of Arms of Australia with the Red Kangaroo and as a part of the Arms also appears on the Australian 50 cent coin. It has featured on numerous Australian postage stamps, including a pre-federation New South Wales 100th Anniversary issue from 1888, which featured a 2 pence blue Emu stamp, a 36 cent stamp released in 1986, and a $1.35 stamp released in 1994. The hats of the Australian Light Horse were famously decorated with an Emu feather plume. There are around 600 gazetted places named after the Emu in Australia, including mountains, lakes, creeks and towns. During the 19th and 20th centuries, many Australian companies and household products were named after the bird; for example, in Western Australia, Emu branded beer has been produced since the early 20th century. The Swan Brewery continues to produce a range of Emu branded beers. Emu - Austral Ornithology is the quarterly peer-reviewed publication of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, also known as Birds Australia. www.wikipedia.com
North Carolina Emu products - Hampstead, NC Emu chicks, eggs, breeding pairs and emu products.
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