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Introduction: In India Emu farming has been started 10 years back and it is a new business concept, which is widely implemented by farmers in Andhra Pradesh , Tamilnadu, Maharastra and Gujarath. Recently Government of India has started Emu Farming in Indian Regiment at Delhi. Now Andhra Pradesh is leading the other states in Emu farming in the entire country. Diversification is the key to success in any enterprise. Hither to farmers are taking up layers and broilers in poultry sector successfully .Similarly , we need to diversify to other species of poultry such as Emu birds in order to reap more profits. Right now the Emu Industry is in breeders stage which has created market for selling the raised Emu birds to the new business entrants. Currently all the Emu farmers are rearing their new born Emus to fully adult breeding pairs and selling them to new farmers who are just getting started in this Industry. Features of Emu : Emu belongs to Retite family of birds and is the third biggest bird species after Ostrich & Cassoway. The bird have small wings and is incapable of flying . Australia is the place of origin for the birds. These birds linve groups and can thirvie under varying climatic conditions ranging from 0 F to 100 F . These birds are omnivorus and eat leaves., vegetables, fruits, insects, worms . They can be fed modified poultry feed. Emu has long neck, relatively small naked head, three toes and body covered with feathers . Birds initially have longitudinal stripes on body (0-3 months age) then gradually turn to brown by 4-12 months age. Mature birds have bare blue neck and mottled body feathers. Adult bird height is about 6 feet with a weight of 45-60 kg. There are no definite emu breeds but are captive bred . Legs are long covered with scaly skin adoptable to hardy and dry soil. Birds sit on their haunch and also walk frequently along the fence. Natural food of emu is on insects, tender leaves of plant and forages on different grasses, eats different kinds of vegetables and fruits like carrot, cucumber, papaya etc. Air sac hangs down loosely in females and is prominent during breeding season gives booming sound where as males do grunting sound. Often sex of the bird can be identified by these sounds during breeding season. Female is the larger of the two especially during breeding season when the male may fast. The female is the dominant member of the pair. The male emu sits on the nest. Emus live for about 30 years may produce eggs for more than 16 years. Birds can be maintained as flock or pair. The birds require fencing made of link chain of 2 x 4 inches with a height of 6 feet for adults. Sexes can be identified by tattooing on the skin of shank or by placing microchip under the skin . Management of the emu was covered in this paper during starter, grower, fattening/finishing, breeding and non-breeding stages. The quality of the birds are as follows: Tenchical parameters: The birds reach their full size by the nd of 1st year . They grew upto 5.5 to 6 feet with a weight of 40 to 60 Kgs . Laying period in A. P starts afer 18 months and eggs are laid during September to February . Eggs are dark blueish green in colour with a weight of 400 to 700 grams . A bird can lay 20-60 eggs in a season. Incubation period is 50-52 days and newly hatched bird will be of 6-7” in height. The life span of the bird is 30-35 years . The productive economic life of the bird is 20-25 years. Economic Importance (Scope) : It is reported that the price of a pair of 15 months old bird having live body weight each 40 Kgs is about Rs. 20000 to Rs.21000/- and the birds are used for the table purposes. At the present the birds are purchased by the farmers are for breeding purpose and for multiplication of species. Meat: Meat of Emu bird is reddish in colour , soft and with less of cholesterol 98% fat free . Emu meat is lower in fat than chicken., Turkey, Pork & Beef. It is the super food of New Millennium. The price commands higher price than the at of meat from other birds/animals and is reported at Rs.200- 250 per Kg. The American Heart Association has included emu meat in its listing of heart healthy meats. Feathers: Feathers are soft non – allergic /anti static , beautiful, double quilled and are used in hats, dresses, computer and car cleaning brushes and household decorative items. About 400 to 600 grams of feathers would be available from a bird and each bird would fetch about Rs.200 at present. Skin : The skin is very thin, soft and strong. Price of good quality skin rported Rs.1000/- per sq. ft. and 8-12 sq.ft of skin is available from a well matured bird. The skin is used in the preparation of shoes, bags, belts,purses, jerkins and seat covers for expensive cars. At present raw skin of the matured bird would fetch about Rs.1000 – 1200/-. Egg shells & Nails: The egg shells are used for painting and as decorative items due to deep blue colour. Nails are strong and decorable used in artificial ornaments and craft goods. Oil: About 4-6 feet of oil is available from a bird which is devoid of any colour taste or odour. At present market prices, the price of one liter refined emu oil is Rs.3000/-. The oil is penetrating and is having moisturizing , analgesic , anti-allergic, and antiseptic properties. The oil is used in analgesic ointments, beauty creams and lotions , soaps, hair oils, shampoos, perfumes and message oils,. The raw fat/crude oil of emu fetches Rs.1000 Kg. Eyes : The bird is able to see upto a distance of 10 meters and its eyes are being used to replace damaged corneas in human beings. Utility: 15 months old Emu broiler weighing 40 kgs slaughtered for oil, meat and skin etc., . the utility is as under: Utility Present market price of produce per unit: ------------- ------------------------------------------------- 43% bone less meat Rs.250 /- Kg 14% bone meat Rs.200/-Kg 5% feather & Skin Rs. 200 + Rs. 100/- 22% fat Rs.1000/ Kg oil. 3% Leg skin Rs. 500/- 4% neck Usable but not saleable at present 3% blood Usable but not saleable at present (About 96% of the bird is usable) Emu farming offers great scope & potential because of its supplementary income , additional employment & simplicity in operation. Efficient emu development can be approved by promotion of small units in villages through gamut of functions like dissemination of information & technology , making various inputs and organizing training sessions to farmers on this subject. Fattening/ Finishing stage: Growing emu need to be fattened to improve body weight (40kg) and FCR (5:1) at the time of marketing for table purpose. Offer finisher ration from 35 weeks age to slaughter or up to 12-18 months age. Bird yield 53% dressed meat and 3-4 liters of fat. Inclusion of vegetable fat at 3-5% in Emu diet will fetch better FCR and net returns since the birds at this age utilizes fat in an efficient way compared to the chicks of young age of less than 15 weeks. The sub-adults kept for breeding purpose need to be fed on maintenance feed specifically made for this purpose from 35 th week age to sexual maturity by 18-24 months. Do’s • Offer fresh required feed balance in respect of all the dietary nutrients for Emu birds. • Ensure proper floor space 100 sft per bird in terms of shelter and run. • Fencing must be at a height of 6 ft made of link mesh 2 x 4 inches to avoid jumping out of the pen • House separately male and female birds to avoid fighting Don’ts: • Do not store feed for more than a month. Such feed is vulnerable to damage the nutrients. Further avoid toxins in feed. • Do not mix the fresh bird stock with the existing one • Never change feed abruptly Breeder management : Emu birds attain sexual maturity by 18- 24 months age. Choose flock or pen mating. Keep sex ratio of male to female 1:1. In case of pen mating pairing should be done based on the compatibility. During mating, offer floor space about 2500 sft (100x25) per pair. Trees and shrubs may be provided for privacy and to induce mating. Offer breeder diet well in advance i.e 3- 4 weeks prior to breeding programme, and fortify with minerals & vitamins to ensure better fertility and hatchability in birds. Semen collection and artificial insemination was successful in emu so that the cost of male maintenance could be minimized (Martin, 2002). Its implementation needs skill. Soon after breeding season, separate the sexes and house them in flock and feed on maintenance ration. Normally adult bird consumes 1 kg feed /day but during breeding season feed intake will be drastically reduced hence intake of nutrients must be ensured. First egg is laid around two and half year age. Eggs will be laid during October to February particularly cooler days of the year. The time of egg laying is around 5.30PM to 7.00PM. Eggs can be collected twice daily to avoid damage in the pen. Normally a hen lays about 15 eggs during first year cycle in subsequent years the egg production increases till it can reach about 30-40 eggs. On an average a hen lays 25 eggs per year. Egg weighs about 475-650 g with an average egg weight of 560 g in a year. Egg appears greenish look like tough marble. The intensity of colour varies from light, medium to dark green. The surface varies from rough to smooth. Majority of eggs (42%) are medium green with rough surface . Feed the breeder ration with sufficient calcium (2.7%) for ensuring proper calcification of egg with strength. Feeding excess calcium to the breeding bird before laying will upset the egg production and also impairs the male fertility. Provide extra calcium in the form of grit or calcite powder by placing in a separate trough. Collect eggs frequently from the pen. If eggs are soiled, clean with sand paper and mop up with cotton. Store the eggs in a cooler room providing 60 0F. Never store eggs for more than 10 days to ensure better hatchability. Eggs stored at room temperature can be set every 3 to 4 days for good hatchability. Incubation and Hatching There are few reports available on incubation and hatching of emu and ostrich eggs . Set the fertile eggs after adjusting to room temperature and place in a horizontal or in slant arranged row-wise in a tray. Keep ready egg incubator by cleaning and disinfecting thoroughly well in advance and switch on the machine for setting the correct incubating temperature i.e dry bulb temperature about 96-97 0 F and wet bulb temperature about 78-80 0F (about 30-40% RH). Place carefully the egg tray in a setter once the incubator is ready with set temperature and relative humidity and place identification slip for date of set and pedigree if required. Fumigate the incubator with 20g potassium permanganate + 40 ml formaline for every 100 cft of incubator space. Turn the eggs every one hour till the 48 th day of incubation. From 49 th day onwards stop turning the eggs and watch for pipping. By 52 nd day the incubation period ends. The chicks need drying. Hold the chicks for at least 24 to 72 hours in the hatcher compartment for reducing the down and to become healthy chicks. Normally hatchability will be 70% or more. There are many reasons for low hatchability. Proper breeder nutrition ensures the healthy chicks. Feeding Emu needs balanced diet for their proper growth and reproduction. So far the nutrient requirements of these birds were not worked out. Feed can be prepared by using common poultry feed ingredients (Table 2). Feed alone accounts for 60-70% of the production cost, hence least cost rations will improve the margin of returns over feeding. In commercial farms, feed intake per emu breeding pair per annum varied from 394-632 kg with a mean of 527kg. Cost of feed is Rs.20 and 22/- during non-breeding and breeding season respectively.
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