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In Depth Info About Emu Oil

Emus & The Emu Industry

The Emu Bird

The emu is the world’s second largest bird. It is native to Australia and graces their nation's coat of arms flanked by the kangaroo on the left side with the emu on the right. Incidentally, both these animals are unable to effectively walk backwards. As a species, the emu is about 80 million years old (the ostrich is believed to be 60 million years old) and belongs to an informal family of flightless birds called ratites (pronounced ray - tites) which includes the ostrich (Africa), rhea (South America), cassowary (New Guinea), and the kiwi (New Zealand). The emu is primarily a woodland bird of southwestern Australia. This is in contrast to the rhea and ostrich, which are desert or open grassland birds.

Of all these birds, only the emu has a large fat pad on the back which stores water and nutrition, similar to the camel. This fat pad serves as an insulation blanket to protect their bodies from extreme temperatures which allows them to be raised commercially in a wide range of climate extremes all over the world. With its origins dating back to the time of the dinosaurs, the emu is one of the oldest living beings. It still shares a number of physical characteristics with its distant relatives such as its three toes, 4-chambered heart, vestigial wings once used as front arms, and large green eggs. The dark green color of the emu egg is due to the presence of biliverdin (part of the bile pathway in humans and other animals). The color serves as camouflage in the grass where the emu lays its eggs.

In the wild the female lays a clutch of eggs (usually totaling fifteen or so, one egg every 3 days) and once the male sits on the eggs the female will breed with another male and lay another clutch. The male incubates, hatches, and raises the chicks to about 6 months of age. The breeding season takes place in the cool winter months (between November and April in the Northern Hemisphere) which comfortably allows the incubation of eggs. The male sits on eggs for 52 days without eating, drinking or defecating. His body temperature drops 2 decrees C and he will live off the fat pad built up during the spring, summer, and fall months.

Female emus are usually 10-15% larger than males. Emus vocalize from an air sack at the front of their neck. The female creates a low pitched boom sound and the males make a short grunting sound similar to a pig’s grunt. In adult birds, this is the only immediate distinction between the sexes. Emus can be productive at 2 years of age and continue for another 20 years or more. The life span of emus in the wild is about 15 years and in captivity over 30 years. We know of one male that is about 50 years old and is still hatching eggs. Hens laying between 30-50 eggs per season with a reproductive cycle starting at 2 years of age can create an abundance of birds in a very short span of time.

Emus are curious, docile, and easily handled by an experienced handler. They are about ten inches tall at birth (weigh 1.5 lbs.) with black and white stripes. As three month old chicks they turn nearly solid black then into mingled tan, brown and black color as adults, some having a bluish neck. This blue can turn nearly purple in some birds if they are upset or excited. The feathers are downy, with no stiff vein running through the center. The emu is the only bird in the world that grows TWO feathers from each quill. The mature emu is five to six feet tall and normally weighs 85 to 120 lbs. Flightless, they are strong runners and can reach ground speeds of 40 miles per hour in short bursts, covering about nine feet in a stride and can turn on a dime. Emus love water and are excellent swimmers, even as chicks. This is a necessary survival skill since the the chicks hatch out just before the summer rain and flood season in Australia. The emu provided a means of survival to the aboriginal Australians in the form of both food and medicine. The fat was used as a moisturizer and as a remedy for numerous aliments such as burns, wounds, and arthritis. Australian aboriginal mythology tells us that the emu egg created the sun after which life began. See “A Tale of Creation.”