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OSTRICH FACTS

• Adult weight 110-150 kg
  
• Hatched chick weight 0.75kg -1.2kg
• Adult height 2.0 - 2.5 metres
• Lifespan 70 - 80 years
• Eggs per hen 40 - 80 eggs per year
• Egg weights 1.5 to 1.8 kg average
• Hens lay eggs for 30 - 40 years
• Period of egg production 6-8 months of the year (summer)
• Adapt to climates of -30 to +40 degrees C
• Growth rates from 1kg to 100kg in 10 -12 months
• Egg production approx 2000 eggs in a lifetime
• Eye sight clear vision to 3.5 km
  
• In the wild ostriches are renowned for being the sentry or ‘look out' as their height and keen eyesight enables them to spot trouble before most other animals. When they start to run this alerts all the other animals and they start to run too.
  
• One ostrich on its own will spend 35% of its time watching for danger.
• Two ostrich together will spend 23 % of their time watching.
• Three ostriches will spend only 14 % of their time watching.

An ostrich can drink 12 litres of water in a day in very hot weather. It is said that they can store water in their bones, not unlike a camel and so were given the Latin name of Camelus struthios.

THE HISTORY OF OSTRICH

The use of Ostrich is not new. In fact, ostriches were being used by man in BC 5500. The first record was found on rock carvings in the Sahara desert. Ostrich was known to roam over many parts of the Middle East and Africa. However with increasing pressure from expanding human populations the ostrich has been forced into the more arid areas of the African continent.

Throughout man's history ostrich has played a part in the society of that time. In very ancient times the ostrich egg provided the ideal natural container for water. Men could travel the desert by filling the eggs with water and store them at strategic points so that they had a precious supply of water to help them cross the desert.

In early times the speed of ostrich made them difficult to catch or kill for meat.
However, these birds shed and replaced their wing feathers annually and these large feathers made excellent, long lasting fans for shade and keeping cool. They were also lighter and easier to use than the more common timber fans.
The Egyptian Pharaohs carried big fans made from ostrich feathers to shield them from the harsh Egyptian sun. Generals in the Roman army used ostrich feather in their head gear as a signature of their rank and prestige. They also believed it enhanced their fighting spirit.

The feathers and leather have been icons of the fashion industry for hundreds of years. Their scarcity and beauty have attracted the elite of fashion followers ? from Cleopatra to modern day designers such as Gucci, Hermes, Louis Vutton to name but a few.

Ostrich oil was also carried Roman soldiers as they believed it gave them special powers because it healed their injuries and soothed their battle worn bodies. History shows the oil has been used as a skin treatment for thousands of years and is still used this way today.

The first record of actual farming ostrich was in

• 1857 - people were artificially incubating ostrich eggs in Algeria.
• 1860 - ostrich farming for their feathers was growing in strength in South Africa and by the 1870's ostrich feathers were in huge demand for the fashion industry and enabled many ostrich farmers of that time to become extremely wealthy.

The excellent qualities of the meat were not realised until the mid 1900's when ostrich farming for feathers was no longer viable. The car became more common and the fashion for large hats with feathers on them became impracticable. Since the discovery that ostrich meat is a naturally low fat and tender red meat the demand has continued to grow among health conscious people. With the knowledge of the qualities of ostrich meat and the ability of ostrich to adapt to many environments, ostrich farming has become more widespread throughout the world.