For a very long time, Mark has wanted emus on our Farm Stay. We’ve had kangaroos, a Western Red and a Western Grey, that were a popular part of our daily animal feeding and all round farm experience, but Mark wanted emus. Being a native, wild animal, we couldn’t go to the local pet shop to get them, nor could we, or would we, steal them from the wild. And we would need an appropriate enclosure to get them, and our guests, safe.
When our Red, Choppa, passed on, and with Clancy, our Grey, preferring to spend his days in the house yard and the adjoining forest, our large Kangaroo pen remained empty. With a high fence, plenty of shade, and lots of room, it seemed a perfect home for emus. When one of our regulars mentioned another farm stay with a mated pair, we were straight on the phone and soon we were proud new owners of four, one month old emu chicks.
Two boys and two girls. And they were so cute! Timid at first, but very curious. It was a delight watching them run around the pen, chasing each other, pecking at anything that caught their eye. But we’d had warnings. People telling us emus could be aggressive. That we’d made a mistake in having them at all. But we were determined to make it work.
Right from that day, we allowed guests into hand feed them, acclimatising them to people, to children, to loud noises. Our grey kangaroo didn’t like them, preferring to stay away from his old pen, but our dogs were fascinated, and would race them along the fence of their pen, the emus as equally taken with our dogs.
As they get bigger, we’ve had to make a few adjustments. Their curiosity knows no bounds. Tissues in your pocket, the cord of a hoodie, jewellery, hair clips, nail polish, belt buckles. Anything different. It’s all fair game to them. For kids, this can be daunting. They’re not a small bird, even at 3 months, four months, five months. They’re only going to get bigger.
So, we built them a pen within a pen. A place for them to snuggle up together at night. A place where we can coral them so the guests can feed them without having an emu right in their face. Building the pen itself was interesting. As soon as we turned our backs, tools would go missing, secure in the beak of an emu as it raced away, determined to keep its bounty.
I still go in the pen with them at night to feed them. I scratch their heads, give them a pat, one of them even likes a cuddle, but I’m careful to have empty pockets, to keep hold of any tools, and keep my jewellery out of reach. It’s worth it. They are the most delightful, amusing, fascinating creatures. And our guests think so too.