How do you like your ostrich ?

They say the eggs are good too.
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In southwest Oklahoma where I grew up raising ostriches and emu was big business during the 1980's. People from as far away as Japan came there to buy and sell ostrich futures. There was even big auctions for the birds and eggs. And there was also a monthly magazine devoted to the ostrich trade.
A two year old breeding pair would sell for around $10 grand.
Ostrich eggs sold for around $800 and baby chicks went for $1,200
I had several friends that raised them to supplement the income of their regular job.
Ostrich meat sold for as much or more than premium cuts of steak at the health food stores. Because the meat was lean and contained no steroids.
People were going crazy buying and raising the birds. One local guy had 400 birds.
Then one day the bottom fell out. Everybody and their brother had gotten into raising ostriches. So the market was flooded with too many birds. The demand for the birds and meat went to almost zero.
Breeders didn't want to speed money feeding the birds anymore. So most were just turned loose out in the country to fend for themselves. I doubt many of the birds survived more than a year or two out in the wild. ... :cool:
 
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In southwest Oklahoma where I grew up raising ostriches and emu was big business during the 1980's. People from as far away as Japan came there to buy and sell ostrich futures. There was even big auctions for the birds and eggs. And there was also a monthly magazine devoted to the ostrich trade.
A two year old breeding pair would cost around $10 grand.
Ostrich eggs sold for around $800 and baby chicks went for $1,200
I had several friends that raised them to supplement the income of their regular job.
Ostrich meat sold for as much or more than premium cuts of steak at the health food stores. Because the meat was lean and contained no steroids.
People were going crazy buying and raising the birds. One local guy had 400 birds.
Then one day the bottom fell out. The market was flooded with too many birds. The demand for the birds and meat went to almost zero.
Breeders didn't want to speed money feeding the birds anymore. So most were just turned loose out in the country to fend for themselves. I doubt many of the birds survived more than a year or two out in the wild. ... :cool:
What kind of fencing would it take to keep them ?
That would be one of the biggest expenses for me - already have plenty of land and an old barn.
 
What kind of fencing would it take to keep them ?
That would be one of the biggest expenses for me - already have plenty of land and an old barn.
Ostriches run like the wind but they don't jump or fly or wiggle under fences.
So a simple single or double wood rail fence would keep them corralled.

We have a lot of coyotes in that part of the country. I asked my friend if he was worried about them attacking his birds. He just laughed, and said that a full grown ostrich would kick a coyote to death. ... :cool:
 
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I was getting ads for ostrich meat on Facebook for a while. I had thought about trying it
Have you thought about importing bat meat from China? I am all for wild game, but mostly, only if I shoot it myself and I haven't done that in years. Good luck.
 

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