Is it hard to breed EMU's? What do people use EMU's for?

Question

Near my house there is a farm, and they have Emu's. I noticed, that they have babies and was wondering why they would be breeding them?

Answer 1

Usually they are used for meat and eggs.

Answer 2

In my area the products mentioned above are sold at farmers markets.

Answer 3

Emu's are fairly easy to breed and raise.  They are raised mostly for their meat production.  They produce a very low fat healthy meat that has found a good place in the specialty market.  There is also a good market for the leather and eggs.  The eggs are large and hard and often used to carve decorative designs and sold as gift items.

Answer 4

The leather, meat and eggs are all sold. Feathers too maybe.

"Commercial Emu farming started in Western Australia in 1987 and the first slaughtering occurred in 1990.[24] In Australia, the commercial industry is based on stock bred in captivity and all states except Tasmania have licensing requirements to protect wild Emus. Outside Australia, Emus are farmed on a large scale in North America, with about 1 million birds in the US,[25] Peru and China, and to a lesser extent in some other countries. Emus breed well in captivity, and are kept in large open pens to avoid leg and digestive problems that arise with inactivity. They are typically fed on grain supplemented by grazing, and are slaughtered at 50–70 weeks of age. They eat two times a day and prefer 5 pounds of leaves each meal.

Emus are farmed primarily for their meat, leather and oil. Emu meat is a low-fat, low-cholesterol meat (85 mg/100 g); despite being avian, it is considered a red meat because of its red colour and pH value.[26][25] The best cuts come from the thigh and the larger muscles of the drum or lower leg. Emu fat is rendered to produce oil for cosmetics, dietary supplements and therapeutic products. There is some evidence that the oil has anti-inflammatory properties;[27] however, the US Food and Drug Administration regards pure emu oil product as an unapproved drug. Emu leather has a distinctive patterned surface, due to a raised area around the feather follicles in the skin; the leather is used in such small items as wallets and shoes, often in combination with other leathers. The feathers and eggs are used in decorative arts and crafts."

Answer 5

Emus are also kept in the UK -- our neighbours have some, and we regularly get eggs from them (at ten times the size of a hen's egg, you get quite a big omelette...).

There may be some commercial emu farms in the UK, but I think mostly they are kept (as by our neighbours) as an exotic pet.

Ostriches are also farmed, but rarely kept as pets because they are much less suited to it, and the regulations are more difficult.