What Do Ostriches Eat? A Detailed Look at Ostrich Diet and Common Feeds

The ostrich is an omnivorous bird, a huge, flightless but fast-running bird of Africa, and the largest living bird species in the world. In the wild it feeds mainly on plant roots, stems, flowers, fruits, small mammals, small insects and so on. Let's take a look below!

What do ostriches eat?

The ostrich has a wide range of nutrient sources and is an omnivorous bird. Its main foods are grass, leaves, seeds, tender twigs, succulent plants, tree roots, flowers with stems, and fruits, and it also eats small animals such as lizards, snakes, young birds, small mammals and some insects.

Farm-raised ostriches are fed compound feed. When eating, ostriches always deliberately swallow some sand grains, because ostriches have poor digestion, and eating some sand grains helps grind the food and promote digestion without harming the stomach and spleen.

The ostrich's living habits

The ostrich is a gregarious, diurnal, running bird. It often lives in flocks of 5 to 50 and often accompanies herbivorous animals. The ostrich uses its powerful legs (it has only two toes, and the main toe is so developed that it is almost a hoof) to escape from enemies, and when startled it can reach a speed of 65 km per hour.

During the breeding season, male ostriches divide up their spheres of influence. When other males come near, they use their wings to drive them away and call out, with a loud and deep call.

Ostrich feed formulas

Ostrich feed falls mainly into two major categories: one is green feed, and the other is mixed concentrated feed. Green feed mainly includes alfalfa, red clover, stylo, elephant grass, king grass, sweet potato vines, bitter lettuce, carrots, ryegrass, Mexican corn, sophora leaves and so on. Compound feed includes corn, wheat, soybean meal, bran, imported fish meal, alfalfa meal, salt, calcium bicarbonate, shell powder, bone meal, methionine, lysine, multivitamins and trace elements.

1. Chick ostrich feed: corn 56%, wheat 6%, soybean meal 12%, bran 3%, imported fish meal 6%, alfalfa meal 10%, salt 0.4%, calcium bicarbonate 1.8%, shell powder 0.8%, bone meal 3%, methionine 0.4%, lysine 0.4%, multivitamins 0.1%, trace elements 0.1%. Daily feeding amount: 120 g at 1 to 30 days of age, 120 to 600 g at 31 to 60 days of age, 600 to 700 g at 61 to 90 days of age.

2. Growing-period ostrich: corn 46%, wheat 6%, soybean meal 8%, bran 10%, imported fish meal 4%, alfalfa meal 20%, salt 0.4%, calcium hydrogen phosphate 2%, shell powder 0.5%, bone meal 2.5%, methionine 0.2%, lysine 0.2%, multivitamins 0.1%, trace elements 0.1%. Daily feeding amount: 0.8 to 1.4 kg at 4 to 7 months of age, 1.4 to 1.9 kg at 7 to 12 months of age.

3. Laying-period ostrich: corn 44%, wheat 5%, soybean meal 12%, bran 5%, imported fish meal 7%, alfalfa meal 20%, salt 0.4%, calcium hydrogen phosphate 2%, shell powder 0.6%, bone meal 3.3%, methionine 0.25%, lysine 0.25%, multivitamins 0.1%, trace elements 0.1%.