Going With The Flow

Spring is well upon us and emu egg laying is almost at an end. Only a few weeks ago this alpha male was "very interested" in spreading the love with anything that walked by his fence line. His manner and his appearance (he will soon loose his black head feathers) have changed (turned off like a tap) to that of a docile "coming up 2": only interested in food consumption and catching some rays. That's good for us as we have been plagued with incubator problems this year and we are looking forward to hatching time.

taraxacum ruderalia maskros - wikimedia commons

Yes that's real farming (not the postcard version) and will need a lot more
discussion in subsequent posts.


What is not at an end this spring is the overabundance of dandelions. Having grown up in suburban Toronto, I have developed a killer instinct for these dreaded yellow weeds in the grass and the rose garden. And now living in farm country I find it is impossible to eradicate them if avoiding pesticides. However this year I have learned to embrace these nutrition laden delicacies as the emu love them. So at morning chore time I collect a bucket of dandelions and congratulate myself in avoiding vet bills and completing some square foot gardening all in one fell swoop.


So in the spirit of my new found happy dance I need to share two videos with you. The first shows a male emu courting his new prospective mate, however she will have the last word. (youtube.com Animal Planet)

 

And the second shows a music box version of the dance created by Di Holdsworth an Australian Music Box artist who lives in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney where the emus roam. (youtube.com Di Holdsworth)

                   
                   

In Australia when "fall is in the air" (Mar-May) it signals Emu Breeding Time

An illustration based on aboriginal style of dot painting
depicting emu (http://www.123rf.com/profile_deboracilli)

As this emu farm is well into breeding season I thought it was time to reflect on Australian emu roots.

Using an aboriginal symbol glossary as reference here is one Canadian emu farmer's interpretation of this dot painting by Debora Cilli.

Bottom right:  The concentric circles portray the social camaraderie of the emu community. Their nomadic travels through the temperate and grassland areas of Australia are depicted by the emu footprints entering and leaving the circle. Similarly when emu bed down for the night they gather in circle formation with their heads at the centre.

Centre Line:  The meandering centre line represents a river and depicts the constant searching by emu for this life force. It also separates the 6 months of social behaviour from the mating activities of breeding pairs.

Top Left:  Shows emu mating responsibilities: after she has laid 8-12 eggs he will know it is time to go broody and he will drive her away to find another mate.