TOPIC 13.

MANAGEMENT OF OSTRICH

At the end of this topic, the student should be able to:

1.Discuss the importance of raising ostrich.

2.Name the popular breeds of ostrich raised in the country and give their important
characteristic.

3.Outline and discuss briefly the management practices of ostrich, especially when
reference to housing and facilities, feeding, incubation, breeding, selection and care of
layers, and disease control.

4.Identify the factors in the efficient marketing of ostrich products, particularly ostrich
eggs.
Features of Ostrich Eggs

 Eggs are glossy, white to cream color, and tough egg shell
 Average of 15 cm log, 13 cm wide, and weigh 1.5 kg and 42 days incubation period
 Begins to lay at 2 years of age up to 30 years with annual egg production of 40-100 eggs
 Fertility, hatchability, and liveability estimates of 80%

Natural Incubation

 In/Fertile eggs are laid I a single communal nest that the male has dug about 4-6 feet in
diameter and about a foot deep carrying 15-60 eggs
 Wild clutches usually range from 8 to 14 eggs
 Dominant or ‘alpha’ he puts eggs in the center of the nest and takes incubation duty during the
day, then the male takes over during the night
Eggs Collection
 Eggs are laid every other day during the late afternoon
 Collected eggs are stored for a week and set the group in the incubator
 Caution should be of consideration in egg collection as cocks ten to be extremely protective and aggressive to
its females and their egg
 Never set an excessively dirty egg

Artificial Incubator
 Equipment include a standby generator, forced draft incubators and hatchers, service tables, a vacuum for
cleaning, candler, egg stand, ventilators, egg trays, and weighing scale
 Eggs are weighed, positioned with blunt end up, and candled every one week to assess the embryonic
development
 Eggs are incubated for the first 35 days to 97.5°F and 20-30% relative humidity
 Whatever the circumstances, it is important to allow the chicks to exit the shell on their own
 Newly-hatched chicks are transferred to the hatchery machine for 7 days at 96.5°F and 20-30% relative
humidity to provide for drying without dehydration
 A chick that is up and moving about is ready to be removed from the machine
Brooding Ostrich Chicks

 Typically, hatched chicks travel with their parents and teach them how and on what to feed
 The parents shelter them under their wings to protect them from sun and rain, and they defend the
chicks against predators

Care and Management of Ostrich Chicks

 Continuous light and access to the starter ration with 18%CP at all times during the first weeks
 Young ostriches will swallow anything
 Refusal to eat ad drink is a common problem with ostrich chicks
 Growth in size is about one foot per month for the first six or seven monthso
 Brooding facility must be designed to protect chicks from predators (dogs, foxes, etc.) as well as
from inclement weather
 Chicks must never be exposed to chilling temperatures nor allowed to become overheated
 At 6 to 8 weeks of age, chicks can be range outside in good weather, but they must be sheltered at
night
 Small portable pen, 12ft long, 4ft wide and 2ft high constructed near some type of shade and wind
beak as young birds are sensitive to extreme sun and wind
 Young birds should be brought indoors in the evening and maintained in heated environment until at
least 2 to 3 months of age
 Do not provide feed at night but available water is acceptable
 Juvenile birds ages between 3 to one year of age can be maintained in a similar, but with larger facility
compared to chicks
 For convenience, access to the indoor facility should also be available directly from the pens
 Grass should be kept at a closely mowed level, especially when grass begins to dry out or turn to
seed, as impactions are more common at this time
Ostrich Sexing

A. Vent Sexing
 At two weeks, sexing is done by lifting the tail upward and everting the lower wall of the vent by applying
gentle pressure on the area below the vent
 Phallus/Clitoris will be everted and this can be visually determined and assessed
 The penis if the cock is slightly larger than the hen’s clitoris, although both are very similar in appearance

Care and Management of Breeders

 Ostriches become sexually mature at 2 to 4 years old; females mature about six months earlier than males
 Territorial males will typically use hisses and other sounds to fight for a harem of 2 to 7 females and the
winner breed with all the females in an area, but will only form a pair bond with the dominate female
 Male to female ratio 1:2-3
 The male courts by sitting on his hocks, moving his wings up and down while throwing his head from side to
side and will usually make loud booming noise by inflating his neck area
 The receptive females walks with her head down, popping her beak and shaking her wings “clucking”
 When approached, the females will sit, allowing the male to mount from the back placing his left foot to the
ground and his right on her back
 Many times when you approach an ostrich pen, the male will do his displaying or dancing ritual
 Lighting programs generally use a combination of natural daylight and artificial light t stimulate and
maintain egg production and fertility in breeder birds
 Eggs usually infertile during the early part of the breeding season caused by infertility in the cock
 Hens and cocks should receive 16 hours of light per day during the entire breeding season
 A pen of about 1/8 acre per bird attached to a barn or shelter with about 100 square feet per bird is all that
is required
 If birds are accustomed o being fed and watered in a shed they will be lore easily confined when
necessary and may build the nest and lay indoors
 At least 6 ft high chain link or other strong and lasting kind of fencing material with no sharps projections
and must be constructed high enough above the ground
 Pen for each cock and his females should not be to large because it is more difficult to manage and eggs
will be difficult to find and collect
 Adjustable open-type feeders and waterers should be positioned so that caretakers can fill them without
being exposed to aggressive males
 A few trees or shrubs in the pens will provide privacy and help induce mating

Feeding Ostrich
 Feed on green berries, seeds, succulent plants, and other plant matter, soil media, dung, carrion, insects such
as locust and lizards
 Eats three times as much dry mater in relation to the dairy cow when expressed as percentage of body weight
(7.5% vs. 2.5%)
 In alternative grazing, the carrying capacity of one hectare pasture is 8 ostriches
 Best feed to weight gain ratio of any land animal in the world (FRC=3.5:1)
 Chicks learn to eat under natural wild condition by copying their parents feeding behaviour.
 In commercial production system, a surrogate mother or an older chick should be used to teach the young
chicks how to eat
 SUGGESTED DIETS FOR OSTRICHES
Grower 9 wks-17
Calculated Analysis Starter 0-8 wks Layer 18 months+
months
% Crude protein 18.0 18.0 24.5
% Crude Fat 3.0 3.5 3.5
% Calcium 1.35 1.35 2.40
% Phosphate 0.72 0.64 0.70
% Crude Fiber 6.0 11.0 11.0
Salt 0.90 0.50 0.60

Ostrich Products and By-products

•Farmed primarily for leather and secondarily for meal, additional useful by-products are the eggs, offal and
feathers
•Ostriches produce the strongest commercially available leather
•Ostrich meat tastes similar to lean beef and is low in fat and cholesterol, as well as high in calcium, protein and
iron
•Uncooked, it is dark red or cherry red in color, a bit darker than beef
•Ostrich feathers were sorted for quality, color and length before being wound in three layers to the handle
•The ostrich feather is durable, soft and flexible, with accounts for the success f the Ostrich feather duster over
the last 100 years
•Eggshells can be made into house decorations and jewelleries
 Animal Health
 Mortality and health problems diagnosed mainly in chicks and juveniles include STARVATION and
MALNUTRITION, INTESTINAL OBSTRUCTION, LEG ABNORMALITIES, and COLIFORM INFECTIONS
 Nasal discharge, ocular discharge, or swelling below the eye are all good indications of a developing
RESPIRATORY PROBLEM
 Diagnosis in a variety of areas in the United States have confirmed rhinitis, candidiasis, salmonella,
asperqillosis and coccidiosis infections
 Parasites identified include lice and ascaris
 Frequently encountered defects or health risks include rolled toes, impactions, prolapses and foreign
body ingestion

VACCINATION PROGRAMS FOR OSTRICHES by Philippine Ostrich and crocodile Farm,

Inc. (CDO)
WEEKS KIND F VACCINE
1st 1st live virus NCD
2nd 2nd live virus NCD
3rd 3rd live virus NCD
4th 1st killed virus NCD
5th 2nd killed virus NCD
6th Dewormer (Dectomax)