Nutrition of Ratites: Comparison of Emu and Ostrich Requirements

While there is a reasonable volume of literature available on the physiology and ecology of the emu and ostrich there is very limited published information on their specific nutrient requirements. This paper attempts to summarise the information available and draw comparisons. The ostrich has been shown to utilise plant fibre with an efficiency equivalent to mammalian herbivores. The emu has a much simpler gut than the ostrich and its ability to digest similar quantities of fibre is yet to be proven. Season has a marked effect on the appetite and growth of emus and this presents unique problems for their adaptation to a farmed animal. Available information suggests that emus and ostriches convert dietary nutrient intake to liveweight gain with a similar efficiency. The commercial farming of emus in Australia was officially sanctioned by the Western Australian Government in 1987 and it is now a national industry with 1300 farmers holding 84,000 birds and a forecast production for the 1995/96 season of 116,000 chicks (Australian Emu 1995). The industry is many times bigger in America and an estimate that 800,000 chicks will be produced during their next hatching season which commences in December 1995 is considered to be conservative (Frapple and O’Malley 1994). Significant flocks are also known to exist in Europe and China.