Emus are classified as members of Kingdom Animalia. These birds came under the phylum Chordata and class-specific to them is called Aves. These are members of the family Casuariidae and order Casuariiformes. Their scientific name is Dromaius.
An Emus looks much like a smaller form of an ostrich. These birds are the second largest bird living on the earth. These birds are nonflying, earthbound, and kept by people for meat, feathers, oil, and leather. Their meat is said to be slender and healthy because it has less than 1.5% fat. These birds are tall and have soft brown feathers. Their average weight is 45 kg (100 pounds).
The Characteristics of Emus
They are having long legs; their neck’s length is 1.9meters and their speed is 50 km per hour. Having a massive body and fast running speed, more quantity of food is required to maintain their body conditions and health. These birds can be dangerous. They use kicking and their claws to protect themselves from different types of predators. In their breeding season, they are usually aggressive. They show signs of aggression only when they feel frightened. Some people kept them as their pets and those pets are much trained so do not show aggression to humans.
They mostly live in Australia, especially in southeastern, northern, and southwestern Australia. They were present on Tasmania and King Island but are now extinct there. They live in woodlands, shrublands, deserts, and sandy plains. They usually migrate from their area of residence as a result of agriculture by humans. They prefer to live in areas where adequate vegetation and water are available. In some areas, they are native as pets. Notwithstanding their larger size and inability to fly, they are not static birds.
They are long-distance runners and can easily cover many kilometers in a day. The average life span of Emus is 5 to 10 years but it can vary depending on the conditions. Before the period of mating, females produce drum-like dull sounds and males make nests in their areas where females come later. They make their nest with the help of grass, bark, and some bushes. The male incubates the eggs which are 15 to 25 in number and collected from different hens.
The incubation period is of 56 days and the male does not drink, eat or defecate during this whole period. When the chicks hatch, males become very aggressive and attack anything which has the intention to harm the nests or baby chicks. Newly born chicks are 440 to 500 grams in weight. The male member remains with the chicks for up to 5 to 7 months. After 2 to 3 years of birth, the young ones are mature enough and can reproduce.
What Do Emus Eat? List of Food Items
They are omnivores, but you can say that they are more herbivores as compared to carnivores. They mostly consume different types of food depending on the conditions. Emus eat grass, insects, leaves, flowering plants, and seeds. They even pick droppings of other animals. they have a preference for food that is easy to find and in a large amount such as seeds, grasses, and some other fruits. They require protein in their diet up to 15 to 20%.
That’s the reason they eat insects and other creatures as their food. They avoid eating harmful and dangerous animals and insects such as snakes and lizards. But small rodents do not create a threat to them. They consume their most of work in picking up food from the ground with the help of their beak and claws and eat insects from underneath the rocks. They do not have teeth to grind their food so they swallow small pebbles that remain in their gizzard and help in grinding the food they eat, for proper digestion.
Types of food they usually eat are following
- Grass seeds
- Acacia
- Corn
- Beetles
- Casuarina
- Sunflower seeds
- Ants
- Spiders
- Flies
- Grasshoppers
- Lizards
- Some fruits
- Rodents
- Centipedes
Plants and fruits
These birds eat almost all types of plant-related food. Many fruits, vegetables, and herbs are used as plants source. They also prefer grains, crops, leaves, hay, and green grass if they are good in taste for them. They eat different healthy fruits including onions, potatoes, beets, carrots, apples, cakes, and different berries.
Seeds
Pets and wild emus consume many other ingredients such as different seeds and wheat. They prefer large seeds with their heavy beaks. They enjoy grass seeds, corns, sunflower seeds, and different tree seeds. The small pebbles and rocks that they eat will help in crushing the hardcovers and help in fast digestion.
Meat
To remain healthy and solid, they require a lot of protein. They can easily catch and consume insects such as beetles, ladybirds, cotton boll moths, spiders, millipedes, insects, cockroaches, crickets, and grasshoppers. As a pet, emus do not have much access to different types of insects. Some farmers provide them with chicken eggs, the meat of small animals, bone meals, or some other products like that. If they are hungry or feeling low in nutrition, then they will catch a lizard or a small rodent to meet their nutritional requirements.
Small pebbles
They eat small stones which go to their gizzard and help to grind and digest food that is consumed by these birds. Stones usually weigh 45 grams of each and they have a capacity of 740 grams in their gizzard at a time.
Manufactured feed
Some farmers offer them manufactured pellets. These pellets can be different in their nutrition levels. Animal feeds or poultry feeds can also give to them for the sake of nutrition.
Diet plan according to their age
At the age of 0 to 8 weeks, we should offer them enough food as required. Food should be offered at various intervals of the day. If balanced food is offered concerning nutrition, then 2 pounds of feed is enough for one chick on daily basis. At the age of 12 to 14 months, different types of food should be provided to them. In this way, less food is consumed. If their nutritious requirements are fulfilled by protein-rich food then consumption is decreased up to less than 2 pounds daily.
At 12 to 24 months, farmers allow them to move freely and hunt on their own in different feed areas. Rotational grazing is allowed to sometimes to get benefit from different types of food. They usually eat one and a half pounds of pelleted feed. If they are dependent on natural fields, then consume less pelleted food. Because most of their nutritional requirements are fulfilled by pastures and some insects. During mating season, adult male consumes less food and decrease up to 1 pound per day.
What Do Emus Eat in the Wild?
They are mostly live in Australia. In dry and summer environments, they consume forages and vegetation but can withstand the non-availability of food without eating. Once they find food, they eat up to their full including berries, seeds, meat, insects, grasshoppers, ants, and beetles. They prefer green and nutritious grasses as compared to old dry grass.
Diet in captivity
As a pet, they use 14 to 17% protein, sometimes non-medicated poultry pellets. Diets can have high amounts of vegetables, seeds, fruits, grains, mealworms, oats, and some dried crickets. So, they are called flexible eaters depending on the conditions of the environment and availability.
What Do Baby Emus Eat?
The baby chicks are mostly fed with emu feeds because they are having strong nutritional requirements. If the feed is not available, they will rely on the ground or regurgitate food offered by their parents. Additional supplements are also given to them including cracked corns and almonds.
From 0 to 8 weeks, 20% protein is required as a starter ration. For 2 to 14 months, they required a grower ration. At 12 to 24 months, they are shifted to a 16% finisher or maintenance ration to fulfill daily requirements.
Variation in diet
As omnivores, they eat a lot of different types of food and odd objects. They can eat car keys, nuts, bolts, jewelry, and many other random things. They love to eat the food of humans including fruits, vegetables, sandwiches, burgers, and bread. They usually use a variety of odd things so it is necessary to keep their area free of litter. They can easily eat pollutants such as plastic which is hazardous to their digestive system.
What should be avoided in the diet
As they are omnivores, their diet includes green vegetables, seeds, grasses, shoots, and insects which are also compulsory to fulfill protein requirements. An overall proteinaceous diet is not ideal for emus, all the other nutrients are also required as well.
Drinking habits
These birds drink a lot of water to keep themselves hydrated and fresh. They usually consume 9 to 18 liters on an average basis. They consume a large amount of water at a time, instead of drinking a small quantity of water at intervals in a day. They mostly live-in warm areas and thus plenty of water is required. Water is also important for the better processing of food.
