Thursday, November 15, 2007

Emu farming in India

Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is here. Not the wine, but the real thing, the birds. It is the national bird of Australia. (Kookaburra is the National Bird of New South Wales.) Emu, a flightless bird, is also the largest bird in Australia and the second largest in the world after its distant cousin, the ostrich. It can reach up to 6 ft (2m) in height and 66-100 pounds (30-45 kilograms) in weight.

The United States, China and Peru established emu farms sometime back but India started only in 1998. To day emu farms can be found in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. Recently, Kerala too has got into the act. In May this year my brother Jacob at Olavipe bought three pairs each of emu chicks and fairly grown up ones, twelve altogether, on a trial basis. Photo of a little one which KO Isaac took at that time is given on the left. The chicks have grown pretty well. Pictures that I took last month are shown below:




Emus may look a bit shaggy but are really cute. And very active. They seem to play to the gallery. Whenever someone goes near the pen, the birds run around, do a bit of dance, and then come and stand near the visitor as if to ask ‘how do you like it?’ There was worry as to how they would withstand the monsoon at Olavipe, which was particularly heavy this year, but the birds came through well.

These birds can adapt to different climatic conditions, from low temperatures to hot locations and can thrive on even lands that are not suited for cultivation. Emu farming is not labor intensive and is compatible with other livestock rearing. The birds are also said to be highly disease resistant. Being heavy eaters, emus consume a lot of plants, and insects like crickets, caterpillars and grasshoppers. The food is supplemented with grain. The life span of the birds is 10-20 years.

Emus are grown commercially mainly for meat, which is low fat and low cholesterol. Almost 95 % of the birds are used for different products. Even the egg shells from which carvings and jewelry are made. And the eggs are beautiful, dark green and about the size of 15 chicken eggs. See the photo by my nephew Antony (PJA Tharakan) reproduced here:



For information on emu farming, you can contact:

Central Poultry Development Organisation

Government of India

Ministry Of Agriculture, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying

Aarey Milk Colony, Mumbai - 400 065

Telefax : 91-22-26858515 Telephone:91-22-26858572.
E-Mail :
cpbfmum@vsnl.net

Click on photos for enlarged view.

Ends.

Also see:

Medicinal Plants: Noni (Morinda citrifolia) planting for profit?

Un-ploughed lies my land


12 comments:

Lakshmi Bharadwaj said...

I've heard of emu farming. some people eat the egg yolk. but i cannot imagine how such a big bird can be edible! i remember seeing them in zoos. there was a feature covering emu farming in karnataka on etv last year. nice eggs, those birds have got. nice colour too,

Anonymous said...

T"hey seem to play to the gallery. Whenever someone goes near the pen, the birds run around, do a bit of dance, and then come and stand near the visitor as if to ask ‘how do you like it?".

It seems such a pity that they are being raised as ' birds for the dinner table'! But of course I am a vegetarian!

Unknown said...

Thanks lakshmi bharadwaj. Emus are cute birds. It is fascinating to watch them.

Unknown said...

Ram, thanks for the comment. I tend to agree with you but what can I say about the eating habits of people.

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Could you Please provide some information about Emu Farming and about their farms in Bangalore.

Appreciate your help in Advance.

Thank you,
Mamatha reddy.

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Could you Please provide some information about Emu Farming and about their farms in Bangalore.

Appreciate your help in Advance.

Thank you,
Mamatha reddy.

Anonymous said...

My brother in law runs an Emu farm in Khammam, AP

The birds are three years old and have laid good number of eggs this season. He is expecting 200 chicks, which will be ready for sale in a month after stabilization

He can show you around the farm, teach you the basics. If you are interested in doing business, Please reply to me at kp74@msn.com with your tel # and I will have him contact you.

Krishna

TallBird EMU said...

EMU Farming in India is catching up like fire in wild woods, we at TallBird EMU Farm has helped almost 20 farmers to establish EMU Farming in Gujarat, AP, Jharkhand, UP, Rajasthan and many other locations.

EMU Farming supported by TallBird EMU Farm is very rewarding and have helped many farmers to make lot of money, we have specialists helping farmers in terms of how to raise the EMU Birds, Medical assistance and reselling of EMU Birds & EMU Eggs.

For more details please visit http://tallbirdemu.com/

Regards

TallBird EMU Farms
http://tallbirdemu.com/

Vinay Sharma said...

Hi there,

Anyone interested in EMU Farming contact me on the following numbers: +91-9328215676 (English, Hindi & Gujarati), +91-9375875996 (Telugu) also you can view our website at http://www.tallbirdemu.com/

Regards

Mathab said...

Nice info and Am an emu farmer and also We sell chicks with buy back agreement. Call us at 09884882931

rndagro said...

Dear friends
We have an emu farm in haryana. At R & D Emu farm we provide end to end solution from the start of the venture to the establishment and functioning of the farm. Our expertise & experience is always at the service as required by the client. We help in starting up a farm from selection of good breed, land, the ideal practice for rearing and growing of bird to marketing of it.
We provide following services
• Full support in setting up a new farm.
• Preparation of detailed project report.
• Providing planning, designing and drawings for the farm.
• Site supervision.
• Quality live emu stock supplied up to your farm.
• Training
• Providing quality feed supply
• Comprehensive sales support
• Support in management of farm for best quality and maximum productivity.

for quaries plz contact
d.nayak
09212853662
09968809938

Sham said...

Sir,

I have gone through lot of websites for the information on emu farming. But I found the following website to be the one which has more useful and practical information. The guy is also providing free technical support to all the farmers on all practical difficulties
http://www.welcomemufarmers.com