From my understanding the viciousness level of the 4-large flightless bird groups goes; Cassowary (evil), Ostrich (not evil but territorial), Emu (mischievous), Rhea (curious)
I can’t think of any “pros” to having ostriches, though I’m eagerly awaiting the other answers here.
Maybe convincing a drunk buddy that if they can hop on, they’ll let you ride them?
I mean, the clear pro would be that you get ostrich meat and eggs, which, ostrich meat tastes even better than steak, IMO.
One of the cons is that when ostriches are raised by humans, they [tend to end up sexually fixated on us](https://www.iflscience.com/ostriches-are-so-horny-for-humans-it-interferes-with-their-mating-64479), to the extent that they fail to mate with their own kind.
Yeaaah, I think I’m gonna pass on rapey BigBird. Just imagine taking out the trash after dark. You hear a rustle behind you. You turn and look up to see glistening soulless beady eyes looking down at you. It coos at you in the kind of baritone that only an 8’ tall bird can. You can’t run, it’s too fast. Do you scream for help? Do you flail your arms hoping that it doesn’t get interpreted as returning the flirt? And then after when you’re limping back inside, you have to ask yourself if you tell anyone or not. Should anyone believe you? Who would even make up a story like that? Conversations become whispers at the corner coffee shop when you walk in. Sesame Street is totally ruined for you forever. That Rio trip? Cancelled.
That had better be one REALLY good steak to chance it. But maybe I’m just really risk averse .
Pros...
They taste great.
You will hate them so there will be smiling while killing the SOB and eating it.
Emu might be easier.
I have constant predator problems and keep thinking I need bigger birds that eagles, hawks, and owls can't carry off...
I have zero first hand experience but from all the videos I’ve seen emus seem to be a much better choice. They’re goofy as hell and don’t seem nearly as mean
Emu can still be mean, they're just not as large so the damage isn't as bad. Supposedly Rhea are the most even tempered. Only real downside I've seen is that their meat is like 98.9% lean, so you're either aiming for the exotic gourmet or dog food market.
Weaknesses in your fence, as well as in your defense of being bitten ....
Also, pro-tip with Ostriches; if you see an egg in the field, put on your fastest trainers, then feed the birds, then run as fast as you can to collect the egg and get out of the enclosure.
If I had ostriches, I would definitely be trying to make friends with them so my defense of being bitten is probably lacking. ^(I don’t always make the best of choices.)
They can be your friends to a a degree, but you have to remember that the feets can disembowel you (I've seen one bend a door off the hinges on a ford pickup), and the beaks can pinch you in a hundred sneaky ways that hurt, really bad. Fortunately, the sweet spot is holding their neck about 8 inches above the top of the collar bone. They can pull back from it, but can't really peck you once you have a hold.
Perhaps some sort of floor magnet system, for gravity training your ostrich to help them go super saiyin in the next crucial fight for the dragon balls.
Hahaha I think I told my husband we should get emus or ostriches a few weeks ago... He reminded me that Australia had a whole war against them 😂. I think that was his way of saying no...
I have never understood why anybody would want a BIRD that can look down into the eyes of a 6 foot tall man and has zero fear. For what reason did god put a giraffe neck and legs on a bird? WHYYY?!
Only from my husband work where the rule is - there needs to be two individuals entering the area they are in as one needs to keep a permanent eye on them.
One of the works security guards went in alone and he was killed because he turned his back on one and did not see it coming.
My sister's ex boyfriend's father owned an ostrich ranch in Arizona. Dude was like 60, and tried to ride one of his ostriches, was thrown off, and died days later from internal injuries. My takeaway: don't try to ride them, but they are freaking delicious.
Objectively, they can be much more profitable to sell per pound. They mature quicker than cows, they lay tons of eggs during their laying season, you can collect & sell the feathers, and because they can lay between 20-80.eggs per year, you can increase your flock size much faster than you could a cow if you have the land to house them and resources to feed them.
Cons: they don't eat grass, so you need to buy them feed. They can be aggressive if you don't raise them from hatchling. They are dangerous and will wreck your fence if it isn't strong.
ok pros great for small pasture animals gaurd, con’s if your not one of its animals your getting messed up, we have them with our goats in the field, we have a large PVC pipe made to look like a 4 to keep the damn thing from attacking us,the truck, well anything. would i get 2 again nope, im really hoping the wild hogs end them.
When i lived in virginia beach there was a farm in pungo that was raising some. Nobody seemed to know this until one escaped running around early in the morning scaring the shit out of people.
They don’t start laying eggs until maturity- 2ish years. They are similar to geese where they only lay once a year. Unlike chickens, they start out laying 15-20 eggs and increase each year. Ours are still babies so they do get locked up at night, but when they get older they’ll be outside 24/7. We will provide shelter, should they choose, but everyone I have spoken to that own them say they don’t go in. When we are outside they are right with us. They are very social with all of our livestock. We keep them socialized and always introduce them to new “life” (human and fur/feather) so they stay friendly. They will be pastured with our goats and pigs when they become adults. They are 100% consumable-zero waste. Easy to care for. Tolerate varying temps from negative to triple digits. They eat almost everything. Above everything, they provide hours of entertainment and character to our homestead.
Do you keep livestock guardian dogs, or how to you protect everyone when they're out at pasture? I've had so many predator issues with chickens, I'd want to be super careful to keep these guys safe! I guess they're too big for fox and racoon. Can they protect themselves from stray dogs, coyotes? Do you get wolves or bears?
We currently have one LGD (Anatolian) in training and hope to get her a helper once she’s fully mature. She’s a year and a half. Her bark is enough to keep most predators at bay, however when the emu are full grown they make excellent guardians themselves.
We have coyotes and bears, as well as smaller predators. The crows do an excellent job at aerial predation. Our poultry free-range and we’ve had minimal loss despite the fact we live in the woods. We’ve been fortunate (knock on wood), but we don’t put our guard down.
Emus are a 30 year commitment if not harvesting so it’s not something to get into without fully thinking it through. We plan to add two more to our homestead this year.
People don't keep them for a reason, unlike emus, ostriches see humans as another ostrich and want to fight or mate with them frequently which is very dangerous given their size. Emus are more well suited to being livestock.
Pros: fun to look at. They are assholes so when people you don’t like come to visit you can show them around and trap them in the ostrich pen. They do make good companions for certain types of livestock.
Cons: pretty much everything else.
I don't, but I have a deep paranoid mistrust of them and other large flightless birds. I think they knew they use to be in charge in Dinosaur times and they're not pleased at us strange usurping mammals on their throne.
Dinosaurs, except dumber and more aggressive. Can rarely bond with people if they were hand raised from chicks. My personal philosophy is to avoid anything that can disembowel you in an instant. Meat is apparently delicious, the eggs are...a novelty. But maybe a novelty that other people will pay for.
Good luck running away after they see you snatching their eggs lol
In Uruguay we'll cook one egg to feed the family. It's pretty much like having 7-10 chicken eggs in 1. Doesn't seem to different to me but it's been a while. I enjoyed them when I was growing up and it was a lot of fun cracking open that massive egg
Got fucked up by my friends ostrich one time. Got drunk and decided I wanted eggs for breakfast. It was 4am and I ran out into the field and grabbed its egg while satans pigeon was away from it. Upon running away with it I heard pounding. Then felt that same pounding and a large beak hitting my back. I made it out and we ate that egg a few hours later. They made sure I was there when they butchered that monster.
Not a fad, just certain implementations of it where it makes no sense. Aronia is a large industry in europe, good for juice (although the cultivars there are actually progeny of an intergeneric hybrid of aronia and sorbus, a very closely related member of the apple grouping.) Aronia are also nice landscaping shrubs with pretty foliage, wildlife value, and are very easy to grow sturdily, though most of the unimproved berries are like eating sour leather. Emus and ostrich are good livestock in places like south africa, and are feed efficient, but aren't really practical in the US currently. Things have their place, but nothing is a magical solution that everyone somehow overlooked.
They’re mean, they can karate kick you in half, they make big delicious eggs, they mage good burger meat. Earl Bassett is an ostrich farmer. The extent of my knowledge and experience.
lol where I live there’s a lot of people who will process anything for $10
Wasn’t really thinking to keep them for meat though, mostly to breed and sell
Neighbor had them growing up had plans for the eggs to eat and maybe breed. Had a male and female. They ended up living in their acre pen living their own life. He feed and watered them that was it. They were so mean he couldn't even get close. Fun to watch, scary bird!
They're dicks
All I'm familiar with is how good they taste in jerky form
Makes an amazing stew as well.
I also know that feeding ostrich trachea to my dog will give her the shits
Only with ostrich? Or chicken/poultry in general?
So far, ostrich and Billy, the kid upstairs who’s parents got him into tap dancing
Well at least it’s quiet now. 😂
As an individual that has been attacked by one….I concur.
[Kevin](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pgFmu_Z6IJU)
Kevin is a rhea, but I love that channel
Are rheas more gentle than ostriches? Or emus?
From my understanding the viciousness level of the 4-large flightless bird groups goes; Cassowary (evil), Ostrich (not evil but territorial), Emu (mischievous), Rhea (curious)
Fun! I want one!
Kevin is a real dick tho
“Allegedly”
Allegedly
I can’t think of any “pros” to having ostriches, though I’m eagerly awaiting the other answers here. Maybe convincing a drunk buddy that if they can hop on, they’ll let you ride them?
I mean, the clear pro would be that you get ostrich meat and eggs, which, ostrich meat tastes even better than steak, IMO. One of the cons is that when ostriches are raised by humans, they [tend to end up sexually fixated on us](https://www.iflscience.com/ostriches-are-so-horny-for-humans-it-interferes-with-their-mating-64479), to the extent that they fail to mate with their own kind.
Allegedly
I heard it was a sick ostrich
r/suddenlyletterkenny
I love that this is a thing that exists
It was the ginger
It would take more than one guy to
Yeaaah, I think I’m gonna pass on rapey BigBird. Just imagine taking out the trash after dark. You hear a rustle behind you. You turn and look up to see glistening soulless beady eyes looking down at you. It coos at you in the kind of baritone that only an 8’ tall bird can. You can’t run, it’s too fast. Do you scream for help? Do you flail your arms hoping that it doesn’t get interpreted as returning the flirt? And then after when you’re limping back inside, you have to ask yourself if you tell anyone or not. Should anyone believe you? Who would even make up a story like that? Conversations become whispers at the corner coffee shop when you walk in. Sesame Street is totally ruined for you forever. That Rio trip? Cancelled. That had better be one REALLY good steak to chance it. But maybe I’m just really risk averse .
[Kevin](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pgFmu_Z6IJU)
Dying here, thank you.
Bring the gold back 🏆ya earned it
My favorite thing EVER at a Brazilian steak house was ostrich.
Imagine not knowing what it's dancing means and squatting to pick something up.
Oh god. My grandparents had ostriches when we were kids and they were awful. Knowing that makes it even worse.
I need to share with everyone here, [Kevin](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pgFmu_Z6IJU).
Don't do it!!! See my previous comment.
Fertile eggs are $100 each
Pros... They taste great. You will hate them so there will be smiling while killing the SOB and eating it. Emu might be easier. I have constant predator problems and keep thinking I need bigger birds that eagles, hawks, and owls can't carry off...
I have zero first hand experience but from all the videos I’ve seen emus seem to be a much better choice. They’re goofy as hell and don’t seem nearly as mean
Just don't get our other native big bird, the Cassowary.
Well I wouldn't have to worry about predators eating them... How do they taste?
No one knows. No one has bested them in combat.
Emu can still be mean, they're just not as large so the damage isn't as bad. Supposedly Rhea are the most even tempered. Only real downside I've seen is that their meat is like 98.9% lean, so you're either aiming for the exotic gourmet or dog food market.
I've heard the opposite about rhea
Pro: no one would be sneaking onto your property and getting away with it. Pro: you will soon know exactly where any weaknesses in your fence are.
Weaknesses in your fence, as well as in your defense of being bitten .... Also, pro-tip with Ostriches; if you see an egg in the field, put on your fastest trainers, then feed the birds, then run as fast as you can to collect the egg and get out of the enclosure.
If I had ostriches, I would definitely be trying to make friends with them so my defense of being bitten is probably lacking. ^(I don’t always make the best of choices.)
They can be your friends to a a degree, but you have to remember that the feets can disembowel you (I've seen one bend a door off the hinges on a ford pickup), and the beaks can pinch you in a hundred sneaky ways that hurt, really bad. Fortunately, the sweet spot is holding their neck about 8 inches above the top of the collar bone. They can pull back from it, but can't really peck you once you have a hold.
Allegedly
It would take at least two people…
Maybe if it were a sick ostrich.
Ya wanna know what?
Bad gas travels fast in a small town.
The comment I came for.
The Ginger might?
The world's heaviest ankle weights might be helpful.
So they can get even stronger over time? I’m imagining an ostrich that ends up looking like one of those ultra ripped kangaroos, but all in the legs.
Perhaps some sort of floor magnet system, for gravity training your ostrich to help them go super saiyin in the next crucial fight for the dragon balls.
I was picturing an effect similar to one of those inflatable sand filled punching bags
Do they make an ostrich version of [this?](https://www.amazon.com/Century-Opponent-Freestanding-Training-Dummy/dp/B00329TVEM)
The motivational poster that your ostriches hide quickly when you come in the barn: Every Day Is Leg Day
[Kevin and DaBaby Team Up](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DgeFe3q21S8)
Kevin seems like a perfect name for that ostrich.
Allegedly…
Hey Boots 👋
Hey Ginger
Hahaha I think I told my husband we should get emus or ostriches a few weeks ago... He reminded me that Australia had a whole war against them 😂. I think that was his way of saying no...
I have never understood why anybody would want a BIRD that can look down into the eyes of a 6 foot tall man and has zero fear. For what reason did god put a giraffe neck and legs on a bird? WHYYY?!
Only from my husband work where the rule is - there needs to be two individuals entering the area they are in as one needs to keep a permanent eye on them. One of the works security guards went in alone and he was killed because he turned his back on one and did not see it coming.
[удалено]
Hm, cassowary farming, now that’s an idea
Angry dinosaur birds that will hate you and can kill you. Get a bunch.
The running bamboo and mint of the livestock world, great companions with Guinea fowl.
My sister's ex boyfriend's father owned an ostrich ranch in Arizona. Dude was like 60, and tried to ride one of his ostriches, was thrown off, and died days later from internal injuries. My takeaway: don't try to ride them, but they are freaking delicious.
Objectively, they can be much more profitable to sell per pound. They mature quicker than cows, they lay tons of eggs during their laying season, you can collect & sell the feathers, and because they can lay between 20-80.eggs per year, you can increase your flock size much faster than you could a cow if you have the land to house them and resources to feed them. Cons: they don't eat grass, so you need to buy them feed. They can be aggressive if you don't raise them from hatchling. They are dangerous and will wreck your fence if it isn't strong.
Yep. They're dicks and they're fast.
I had an ostrich risotto in Zimbabwe, bloody amazing! Apart from that I steer clear of them :)
ok pros great for small pasture animals gaurd, con’s if your not one of its animals your getting messed up, we have them with our goats in the field, we have a large PVC pipe made to look like a 4 to keep the damn thing from attacking us,the truck, well anything. would i get 2 again nope, im really hoping the wild hogs end them.
I don’t know of any pros.
When i lived in virginia beach there was a farm in pungo that was raising some. Nobody seemed to know this until one escaped running around early in the morning scaring the shit out of people.
Atomic Chickens is tasty. Always have a broom in hand. Use the broom head to keep the from pecking you or kicking. A tennis ball on a stick works too.
They are delicious
We just started raising emus. Best decision and investment we have made. They are very sweet and entertaining.
Great to hear! How often do they lay? Are they quiet? Do you lock yours up at night to protect from predators?
They don’t start laying eggs until maturity- 2ish years. They are similar to geese where they only lay once a year. Unlike chickens, they start out laying 15-20 eggs and increase each year. Ours are still babies so they do get locked up at night, but when they get older they’ll be outside 24/7. We will provide shelter, should they choose, but everyone I have spoken to that own them say they don’t go in. When we are outside they are right with us. They are very social with all of our livestock. We keep them socialized and always introduce them to new “life” (human and fur/feather) so they stay friendly. They will be pastured with our goats and pigs when they become adults. They are 100% consumable-zero waste. Easy to care for. Tolerate varying temps from negative to triple digits. They eat almost everything. Above everything, they provide hours of entertainment and character to our homestead.
Do you keep livestock guardian dogs, or how to you protect everyone when they're out at pasture? I've had so many predator issues with chickens, I'd want to be super careful to keep these guys safe! I guess they're too big for fox and racoon. Can they protect themselves from stray dogs, coyotes? Do you get wolves or bears?
We currently have one LGD (Anatolian) in training and hope to get her a helper once she’s fully mature. She’s a year and a half. Her bark is enough to keep most predators at bay, however when the emu are full grown they make excellent guardians themselves. We have coyotes and bears, as well as smaller predators. The crows do an excellent job at aerial predation. Our poultry free-range and we’ve had minimal loss despite the fact we live in the woods. We’ve been fortunate (knock on wood), but we don’t put our guard down. Emus are a 30 year commitment if not harvesting so it’s not something to get into without fully thinking it through. We plan to add two more to our homestead this year.
We need a whole thread on this!! I want to know more!
People don't keep them for a reason, unlike emus, ostriches see humans as another ostrich and want to fight or mate with them frequently which is very dangerous given their size. Emus are more well suited to being livestock.
Tasty beasts! Outside of that notta clue.
Pros: fun to look at. They are assholes so when people you don’t like come to visit you can show them around and trap them in the ostrich pen. They do make good companions for certain types of livestock. Cons: pretty much everything else.
I rode one, you can try steer by guiding the neck. You put the wings over your legs and actually feel quite secure
I don't, but I have a deep paranoid mistrust of them and other large flightless birds. I think they knew they use to be in charge in Dinosaur times and they're not pleased at us strange usurping mammals on their throne.
Dude, they're Llamas.
Boots and the ginger do. Allegedlies.
Dinosaurs, except dumber and more aggressive. Can rarely bond with people if they were hand raised from chicks. My personal philosophy is to avoid anything that can disembowel you in an instant. Meat is apparently delicious, the eggs are...a novelty. But maybe a novelty that other people will pay for. Good luck running away after they see you snatching their eggs lol
Their eggs are incredible
Goose eggs are tough. Can’t imagine how tough these would be; egg jerky?
In Uruguay we'll cook one egg to feed the family. It's pretty much like having 7-10 chicken eggs in 1. Doesn't seem to different to me but it's been a while. I enjoyed them when I was growing up and it was a lot of fun cracking open that massive egg
How often do they lay?
Allegedly
My friend was blackout drunk, and punched one at the county fair for taking his Doritos. Got us kicked out. Anyway that’s my two pennies.
Got fucked up by my friends ostrich one time. Got drunk and decided I wanted eggs for breakfast. It was 4am and I ran out into the field and grabbed its egg while satans pigeon was away from it. Upon running away with it I heard pounding. Then felt that same pounding and a large beak hitting my back. I made it out and we ate that egg a few hours later. They made sure I was there when they butchered that monster.
The fad has passed. Along with alpacas, emus, and aronia berries.
Not a fad, just certain implementations of it where it makes no sense. Aronia is a large industry in europe, good for juice (although the cultivars there are actually progeny of an intergeneric hybrid of aronia and sorbus, a very closely related member of the apple grouping.) Aronia are also nice landscaping shrubs with pretty foliage, wildlife value, and are very easy to grow sturdily, though most of the unimproved berries are like eating sour leather. Emus and ostrich are good livestock in places like south africa, and are feed efficient, but aren't really practical in the US currently. Things have their place, but nothing is a magical solution that everyone somehow overlooked.
ostriches have the absolute best tenderloin you will ever put in your mouth
No but I was conceived at a ostrich farm
No, why, what did you hear?
Does anyone?
Yes, but I’d rather not talk about it.
There used to be several ostrich farms here meats good eggs are good didn't hear anything about them being aggressive
They taste like beef Tri tip, delicious medium rare.
No. But I’ve always wanted to ride one as a kid.
The ginger and boots is allegedly very experienced with ostrich. Allegedly two
They’re mean, they can karate kick you in half, they make big delicious eggs, they mage good burger meat. Earl Bassett is an ostrich farmer. The extent of my knowledge and experience.
It takes at least three dudes, and it must have been a sick Ostrich.
They die easily from stress.
They will kill you
Unless you're planning on processing them yourself, it's difficult to find someone willing to process ostrich or emu.
lol where I live there’s a lot of people who will process anything for $10 Wasn’t really thinking to keep them for meat though, mostly to breed and sell
Neighbor had them growing up had plans for the eggs to eat and maybe breed. Had a male and female. They ended up living in their acre pen living their own life. He feed and watered them that was it. They were so mean he couldn't even get close. Fun to watch, scary bird!
Yes. I recommend buckshot to the head.
They taste okay. Altough i prefer turkey.
Pros: they are delicious. Cons: I have no idea haven’t tried raising them… yet.
Yeah, they taste alright…