Management of Emu Birds

Emu is native to Australia, and also its national bird. Australian aborigines used to raise emus for food, shelter and clothing for centuries. Considered to be a menace once upon time to the agricultural farmers, emu is now emerging as a potential multi-million dollar industry in the world (Geo, 1993).It is expanding at a rapid rate in several countries including India. The birds are totally useable and its products include meat, oil, skin, feathers, nails and egg shells. A huge demand in international market exists for all these products. Despite this tremendous potential, very little is known about its scientific management, production performance and welfare. Emu farming in India is less than a decade old and no scientific information is available on any of the above aspects. Hence a pilot study was undertaken to study the production performance of emu birds maintained emu research unit, TANUVAS at RRC Pudukkottai, in Tamil Nadu.The results reported in this study pertains to the emu chicks from 0-90 days of age under normal feeding management system. The growth performance in terms of body weight, average daily weight gain, feed intake and feed efficiency was recorded.