April 2017
One
Egg, Seven Omelettes
Farmers
rarely take vacations and it has been our observation that they feel compelled
to include some business if they do get away. One past season we were putting
the finishing touches on our packing for an agricultural conference in Denver.
We heard a knock and our neighbour was at the door. He described how he was just
sitting down to breakfast and a “big
chicken” walked past his window.
Fortunately he agreed to keep our big chicken safely fenced in until we got back.
Fortunately he agreed to keep our big chicken safely fenced in until we got back.
It makes
sense that our neighbour described our emu as a big chicken as “if it looks
like a chicken and walks like a chicken it must be a chicken” ……… but no,
emu are actually classified as livestock because of how the meat is processed
even though it has the anatomy of poultry.
Emu are native to Australia and are the world’s 2nd largest bird (only smaller to an ostrich) and when full grown weigh about 110 lbs. At 14-18 months that full grown emu produces 35 lbs of healthy red meat (higher in protein and iron than beef) and 25 lbs of fat that renders to 10.5 L of therapeutic emu oil.
As we write this article our farm is fully into breeding season. Unlike poultry emu breeding is stimulated by shorter daylight hours and longer nights. In the wild the rooster goes broody and sits for 50 days to hatch his clutch of 7 to 8 eggs. At hatch he will lead his chicks, sometimes miles to food and water and be their protector for 4 or 5 months. A hen on the other hand can produce some 20-30 eggs in a season. As her first mate starts incubating the eggs she will leave in search of a second and possibly a third consort.
Emu are native to Australia and are the world’s 2nd largest bird (only smaller to an ostrich) and when full grown weigh about 110 lbs. At 14-18 months that full grown emu produces 35 lbs of healthy red meat (higher in protein and iron than beef) and 25 lbs of fat that renders to 10.5 L of therapeutic emu oil.
As we write this article our farm is fully into breeding season. Unlike poultry emu breeding is stimulated by shorter daylight hours and longer nights. In the wild the rooster goes broody and sits for 50 days to hatch his clutch of 7 to 8 eggs. At hatch he will lead his chicks, sometimes miles to food and water and be their protector for 4 or 5 months. A hen on the other hand can produce some 20-30 eggs in a season. As her first mate starts incubating the eggs she will leave in search of a second and possibly a third consort.
These emu eggs average 600 grams and contain the equivalent volume of 10 chicken eggs. The shell is dark green and including membranes is made up of seven layers to protect the growing chick. The internal shell layers are progressively lighter in colour and are perfect for carving in the cloisonné style. Because an emu chick takes 58% longer to hatch it is not surprizing that the yolk portion of the egg would be much larger than that of a chicken. The white is more viscous than a chicken egg and makes wonderfully light and fluffy omelettes and cakes.
So as our neighbour’s news gave us much stress leading up to our “vacation” we did appreciate his humour. Emus although large are very easy to raise and for the most part friendly and curious. We invite you to visit our website at www.bcemufarm.ca
June 2017
No Need To GMO
This Emu Doesn’t Bruise
There are
estimates that emu have been roaming the Australian countryside for 40 thousand
years. Aboriginals have been and continue to hunt emu to supplement their high-energy
demand diet, for traditional healing practices and spiritual folklore. It has
only been since the early 1980s that farming emu was permitted by the
Australian Government. Consequently, the emu’s evolutionary characteristics are
pretty much in tact and little time has passed for producers to influence their
generational biology. So, farming emu requires a different skill set as the
farmer accommodates rather than dictates.
Emu are
gentle animals by nature and given a chance will usually run away from a fight.
They evolved into running machines
that can maintain speeds of 30 mph for 30 minutes as they learned to run on
their toes; resulting in very few natural predators. They travel in large
groups when not breeding and this mob mentality works in their favour to
discourage predation. When cornered, however an emu has a dangerous double
footed kick that farmers have learned to respect. Well maintained 6-foot
fencing around large exercise pens satisfies their natural fence walking
habits.
In the wild
emus are nomadic as they forage for seasonal food such as seeds, grasses,
leaves, fruit and insects. Recyclers by
nature they frequently retrace their steps as their short 6-hour metabolism
allows them to harvest a second helping. In addition to grazing our emu farm provides
a specific feed formula comprised of barley, lentils, soybean and alfalfa.
Unlike other animals, emu’s feed consumption reduces to half during breeding
season as these birds have evolved to store a large fat pack used as an energy source
during egg production and incubation.
Emus have also
developed a body structure that will accommodate
wide variations in climate. They can tolerate high temperatures and also
cold winters with snow. They have an unusual feather construction of two
feathers out of one quill. This allows them to raise their feathers for cooling
or for warming insulation. They usually prefer to live outside year-round in
our Cowichan Valley weather however will seek shelter from windy conditions. So,
minimal housing construction is required for the farmer, only that to keep their
feed dry.
The adaptive
characteristics of the Australian emu has produced lean omega-rich red meat and
health promoting fat and oil without the benefits of modern science. Not
necessary, from our point of view, to mess with a good thing.
September 2017
VANCOUVER ISLAND EMU
A FAVOURITE FOR LOCAL PETS
While it might be surprising to most
readers, Vancouver Island used to be home to over 20 emu farms from Campbell
River to the Cowichan Valley in the 1990’s. Twenty years later Mt. Sicker Family
Farm in Chemainus is the largest emu grower in Western Canada.
The original scheme was to sell emu
breeders and chicks to other farmers, however this did not sustain itself and
most farmers in Canada and the US went broke.
Today’s emu farmer is focused on
selling the finished products of emu meat and oil to health conscious consumers.
At this time you cannot find Emu at
your local grocery store. The available abattoirs are not set up to process
emus properly for that purpose. Although 95% of the bird is used there are two
main by-products, meat and fat. The condition of the fat must be specifically
controlled. So Mt. Sicker Family Farm sells emu meat for pet food to Buddies
Natural Pet Food, a Vancouver Island raw pet food manufacturer and retailer.
Founded in 2005, Buddies Natural Pet
Food is locally owned and operated out of Duncan B.C. They love working with
local farms and enjoy working with Mt. Sicker Family Farm. Many of their staff
have toured the farm and have seen how much love and care goes into raising each
and every bird. They are raised in a safe free-range environment, fed
free-choice locally milled feed and mountain stream water.
Emu is a fairly new protein in the
Canadian pet food industry, it really is one of a kind! Because this farm
separates the fat to make oil it results in an, essentially, low fat product. It
is higher in protein and iron than other red meats and has the equivalent fat
and cholesterol of poultry. A nutritional comparison of meats can be found at http://aea-emu.org/node/36. You read right. Despite its
feathers it is in fact a red meat! These properties make it ideal for pets
looking to achieve a low fat diet and/or prone to heart issues, or allergies to
chicken, turkey, beef, etc.
These days pets seem to be allergic
to everything! There are many things that come into play that cause this, one
of which is the fact that the “normal” proteins are being over fed. Many pets have
developed specific protein allergies over time causing quite the head ache for
their paw-rents. Emu is a low allergen protein, due to its uncommonness, which
makes it perfect for those allergy plagued pets.
Buddies Natural Pet Food offers
several different ways to incorporate emu meat into your pets’ raw diet;
choices like Bone-In Grinds, Meaty Chunks, and their “Dinosaur Leg” for chewing
purposes. All of Buddies’ Emu line is bone in, meaning they cut or grind the
bone into the product you are giving your pet. While cooked bones can splinter
and hurt your pet, raw bones are much safer and hold many nutrients that are
vital to your pets’ health. Emu bones in particular are softer than many other
red meats, therefore you do not have to worry when feeding the whole bones.
So a great partnership has been forged
to bring a healthy food alternative to pets in the Cowichan Valley.
To read full issues of Cowichan Valley Voice click here
To read full issues of Cowichan Valley Voice click here
