THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The yelping turkeys, quacking ducks and clucking hens at Ajitha’s poultry farm at Enikkara, now has two newcomers in their midst - two emus from Hyderabad. It’s just about two weeks since their arrival, but the duo seem to have already made friends with their feathered friends, perfectly at ease in the large cages that has been specially built for them.
Ajitha, who works at the Karakulam post-office, must be one among the very first city residents to go in for emu-farming. ‘‘It was out of pure curiosity that I decided to buy a pair. They were quite tired when they had come in, but some glucose water and starter fowl feed got them back on their feet,’’ said Ajitha, who first came to know about these birds from newspapers and books.
What is written about emus is simply amazing stuff - that one litre of emu oil, famed for being marvellous for the skin, costs Rs 4,000 per litre in the international market; that one emu egg, which costs around Rs 500, can give 25 delicious omelettes and that one kilogram of emu meat will fetch Rs 250-300. Imagine, how much income a fully-grown 50-kg adult emu bird can generate!
Buying a pair is just as expensive. Ajitha had to shell out a five-figure sum to buy a two-month old pair. It takes 18-20 months for the emus to become fully mature, when they yield up to 50 eggs per year.
‘‘Actually, I have not thought about the profit part as such. I love birds in general and I wanted to have emus at my farm. I would like to breed them and keep 2-3 pairs for myself and then think of selling. An adult bird weighing 50 kg is as good as a buffalo and I can get back my investment just by selling the meat of one,’’ said Ajitha, who has over 30 hens, including fancy hens like Onagodory, Millie Fluer and Silver-laced, 13 ducks and 7 turkeys.
What is common between emus and turkeys is that they both lay eggs in the evening. The emu eggs are huge, shining blue and the shells are used for making beautiful art pieces. ‘‘The skin is supposed to be very soft and hence used for manufacturing hand gloves, while the feathers are used to make handbags,’’ said Dr J. Mohan, principal training officer at the Livestock Management and Training Centre, Kudappanakkunnu, who has made a short documentary on emu farming, which could be very useful for beginners.
The female emu is larger and taller than the male. Though they are the largest birds after Ostriches, Ajitha did not have much of a problem taming them. ‘‘They are harmless. All that they do is peck around anything that is shiny or metallic and often on our footwear,’’ she said.
Ajitha had to be especially cautious because with construction of the sheds still going on, there are bits of iron scrap lying around. Until the construction is over, the emus will have to be confined to the sheds.
There are no known predators as such and what is surprising is the fact this bird, with its three little toes, can easily stamp a snake to death. ‘‘Their legs are very strong since they carry the whole body weights and killing a snake is no big deal for them,’’ said Mohan. Unlike common hens, emus are generally resistant to almost all the diseases that attack poultry and hence are becoming very popular in North India, though they are yet to catch up in the south.
reema_narendran@expressbuzz.com