A real bird.
An imaginary bird (image from Wikipedia).
And I have Sesame Street to thank for since that's where I learned my A,B,Cs and 1,2,3s. It's also the reason why I pronounce the letter Z as 'zee' and not 'zey' like 'hey' which was the way they taught in school back then, and I think they still do today. Sesame Street was a part of my life perhaps until college. And then one day I "grew up" and became a part of the working class.
Then there's another big bird that I thought would not do well in our country because of the year-round high humidity and a long wet season. That's what I thought until my father proposed that we try raising ostriches. This idea came about when he saw a booming ostrich farm in a neighboring province which led to his lofty idea of being the first in our province to have an ostrich farm. Since I could sense that he was dead serious, I reluctantly consented.
The remaining trio, the male is in the middle.
My father suggested that we start with seven chicks. But when I learned that one young chick costs almost US$200.00 I wanted to back out. That does not include the cost of feeds and supplements. Not to disappoint my father I just closed my eyes and prayed that these chicks better not go to ostrich heaven or else I'm gonna be a very, very unhappy man. It was a gamble.
How I wish this female was sitting on some eggs.
As the chicks grew and the years go by, the seven ostriches became six, then five, then four, then three --- their current number today. The six became five because, as it turned out, there was only one male in the flock. Like any other birds it is hard to determine ostrich sex while they are still young. The ostrich farm agreed to exchange one of their male ostriches for two of our females. Hmmm... sounds like an unfair deal.
As expected in animal husbandry, there will be mortality. The other ostriches succumbed to various ailments. Thank goodness there's still one male alive. But I'm beginning to think he's either sterile, gay or impotent. Eventually, one of the females managed to lay two eggs. We thought we'll be hearing the sound of chirping baby ostriches soon but both eggs were unfertilized. Since then they've never produced a single egg.
Near the shed which serves as their shelter at night and during bad weathers.
Even though my father's dream of an ostrich farm did not materialize I'm thinking of keeping at least 2 or 3 ostriches so that the presence of these big birds will not be missed. Sometimes visitors would come just to look at them and marvel at the sight of these oversized but graceful birds.
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10 comments:
The DA farm in Bohol also started rearing this birds a few years back. A few years after there are only 2 remaining and now i think only one, just don't know if male or female. They are very difficult to care for. Imagine, they already have an in-house veterinarian and yet they still succumbed to mortality. Maybe your father should resort to human as their petting mate, like what they did with the eagles in Davao. They were successful in breeding them even without the eagles together in a cage. Maybe it is just like AI, just don't know if it's possible with ostrich.
These are beautiful Big Birds! Unfortunately, it is not easy to rear them. Perhaps things happen this way for the better.
It is so funny, I never learned much about big bird because for Mexico they used a different caracter in its place (a tropical parrot). I remember when I was a kid I had no idea what was that weird bird that came with some of sesame street toys.
I hope you get to have a nice ostrich farm some day, they are many around where i used to live, it seems quite fun. Maybe try getting a new male because that one a bit too old.
I only saw this bird in Zoos! Manila Zoo has two, I think. :)
Hi Andrea
I guess we're luckier than the DA in Bohol even though we don't have a dedicated veterinarian :) I don't think I'd want my father to be their human companion now that they're big, they are quite strong and just one kick from them can be fatal and my father is no longer a spring chicken.
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Hi One
Maybe a lot of focus and dedication is needed to rear them. As for food, surprisingly they are not picky, they eat even the tender grass inside their pen and they like 'kangkung' too.
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Hi Fer
They also made a local version of the show after several years. Instead of a bird the local version has a big turtle. Both local and US versions were available so I got to watch both :)
The male is not very old, less than 10 years old. The loss of feathers is due to the condition of the local climate.
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Hi Kingdom
Actually my father was thinking of creating a mini-zoo. One time he was asking where to buy live crocodiles. It's a good thing we were able to dissuade him ... LOL
Hi Solitude...hmmm...if you want to capitalize on your farm, then a mini-zoo might be a hit for travelers in your farm area. If you have heard of "Lolo" the giant crocodile captured in Mindanao, he's having the time of his life! But yes, dissuading your father is far better than having to feed crocodiles. :D
Hello Kingdom. I don't think a mini-zoo will pan out, just imagine the cost of keeping crocodiles much more a zoo.
hi solitude. nice post! wow ostriches sure are pricey! when we visited a farm here in batangas, my niece was fascinated with that big bird, telling us what big fried chicken it would make. hahaha!
I have seen people ride the ostrich in a farm on TV. Ostrich meat is also sold in restaurants here.
Hi Angel,
Thanks! Big fried chicken indeed. It will need a big frying pan also and lots of cooking oil :)
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Hi Autumn Belle,
I've seen it on TV also. Maybe it can be done with a really tame ostrich.
Ostrich meat is expensive because it's still hard to find. They say that it's better that other red meat due to less fat and cholesterol. I also read that their skin is a better quality leather than that from cows.
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