Detailed Explanation of Ostrich Farming Methods and Technical Key Points

The ostrich is the largest bird in the world, but unlike other birds, the ostrich cannot fly. It has strong disease resistance, wide adaptability and a high reproduction rate. Ostrich meat contains protein, lower cholesterol, and also contains the twenty-one amino acids essential to the human body. The meat is tender and delicious, and its value is almost the same as that of beef, making it one of the more popular meats recently. Not only does its meat have high value, but its eggs, feathers and so on are also very profitable. So how should it be farmed? Come and take a look with the editor!

1. Breeding site

To farm ostriches, you must choose a well-drained sandy soil area and use fencing to pen them on a slope with an incline of about 20. Stay away from noisy places such as urban areas and traffic zones. The area around the site also needs to be enclosed with wire mesh at least two meters high, which is to prevent the ostriches from being injured. In addition to the breeding ground, an ostrich exercise yard must also be set up, and the exercise yard should face south with its back to the north. In the rest area, adult birds and chicks must be rested separately. The rest area must be insulated against wind and rain and have good ventilation. The floor of the bird house must be clean, hygienic and dry. Ostriches need the ground to be completely dry; ostriches cannot survive in a damp environment.

2. Feed selection

The ostrich is an omnivorous animal. Its digestive function is relatively good, and it has a rather special digestive system. It can extract energy from crude fiber, so when providing feed to ostriches, do not provide feed with too much energy. If there is too much nutrition, plus the energy in the green feed, it will cause excess nutrition in the body, increase body fat, and affect the ostriches' reproductive capacity. Moreover, ostriches grow quickly and have a fast metabolism. In order to effectively promote the establishment of a microbial growth area in the hindgut, the amount of crude feed should be increased after two and a half months.

3. Mating period

The estrus behavior of the female ostrich is very obvious. Its movements are much gentler than before, and it will actively approach the male ostrich, walking over with its head lowered, with its head almost touching the ground. Its wings also droop accordingly, and its beak opens and closes. After mating, the female bird will lay eggs within 1-2 weeks. If the laid eggs are taken away, the female bird will lay eggs continuously, one per day, for about 20 days. It is very uneconomical to let artificially raised ostriches hatch the eggs themselves. Some with strong breeding capacity can lay more than 40 eggs continuously, which still has a certain relationship with good feeding management.

4. Disease prevention and control

The brooding period of ostriches is a period of high incidence of various diseases, and it is also the key period for the success or failure of farming. The main disease of ostriches during the brooding period is respiratory infection, which is generally caused by reasons such as poor air quality, dirty and messy environment, and damp ground. Respiratory diseases will have a certain impact on the growth and reproduction of ostriches, and may even cause death. Therefore, ostriches during the brooding period should be managed by specially assigned personnel, who should always pay attention to the ostriches' condition and eating situation, clean the bird house thoroughly, disinfect regularly, immediately isolate sick birds, and examine their condition for treatment. Provide a good living environment for the ostriches.

The above are the methods for farming ostriches. Farming ostriches is relatively easy, but what must be noted is the farming environment. This is because ostriches originally live in high-temperature, dry environments such as Africa. If their living environment is especially humid, ostriches will develop diseases and it will be difficult to control them. Also, the feed should not be fed with nutrient-rich feed, for the reasons also mentioned earlier. This article is for reference only, and I hope it is helpful to everyone.