EMU-FARMING IN THE NORTH-WEST
 Jakes & Susan Engelbrecht and James & Carol Cronjé, started farming with emus in 1999. Our farm is situated 25km outside Potchefstroom on the old Carltonville road. The farm is open to the public by specific appointment.
Unbelievably, emus are very hardy and easy to manage. Chores consist of counting heads, checking each animal’s overall demeanor and appearance, cleaning out their water, and feeding them twice a day.
Our emu facilities houses birds from early hatched chicks to 6-year-old breeders (depending upon the time of year).
Laying season start middle to late April until September and we collect their eggs every evening and early in the morning. The eggs are a dark green-blue colour and look a lot like an avocado. After we collected the eggs, they are labeled and stored for incubation. In the incubator, the eggs are rotated three times per day. Eggs take 54 days to hatch.
Once chicks are hatched, they are kept inside a heated room for four days. Thereafter they are only kept in a heated room at night, with daily outings (as weather permits) for sunshine’s Vitamin D until they are large enough (and the weather is warm enough) to remain outdoors. This usually occurs at about eight to ten weeks of age.
Chicks are raised to 14 months of age, when they can produce between 10 to 14 kg of fat. The fat is processed in an oil refinery plant, to produce emu oil.
Emuphoria Emu Oil based products are available to sample and purchase. Examples of eggs, feathers and leather products are on show. Pictures with the emus are available for R25 (on CD) when the birds cooperate. Although our birds are very tame, they will always be wild animals.
The meat is similar to that of the ostrich – red meat, which is low in cholesterol.
The hides are soft, pliable, and suitable for clothes. We make beautiful leather articles like handbags, belts and purses.
When visiting the area, please include this unique farm in your travel route. For an appointment, please phone this number: 018 298 1306 or e-mail us at mwsengel@mweb.co.za.
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