Should i move to an ostrich farm with my uncle?

Question

My uncle made the offer to move to his farm and help him and in return my husband and i would get paid very well. The only thing is that i know nothing about those animals.

Answer 1

IDK what to tell you. If you are willing to learn how to care for them, then I would say sure, go for it. But I don't know you as a person, so I IDK if you are willing to do that. It will be hard, just like working on any other kind of ranch, I know this for a fact.

Answer 2

Don't think your uncle plans on using you to do farm work....  I would stay far away from him.

Answer 3

Not knowing either you, your uncle or the ostriches, I feel unqualified to offer an answer.

Answer 4

It is hard work and that is part of why the pay is high. There was an episode on DIRTY JOBS where Mike worked at an ostrich farm. You should see if that is available as a cable repeat.

There was a lot of wrestling the birds into places they didn't want to be, a lot of messy cleanup of their droppings, a lot of carting large amounts of feed, and a lot of smelly vomit (an ostrich habit into their food) to clean up.

It sounds like an opportunity to get ahead financially so go for it. But don't expect it to be like a vacation at a farm.

Answer 5

My step father had a small Emu farm

It wasn't that hard

TV shows are designed to entertain, truth is rarely entertaining

Give it a try over a two week or so vacation, you might like it

Answer 6

Try a very short visit to know what you are getting into.

For a fact, people do raise ostriches and sometimes make a profit. It is survivable.

Ostriches are not much more dangerous than a herd of cattle, and not as dangerous as a lot of pigs on free range or kangaroos.

Even a large flock of turkeys or geese can be a threat to life and limb. Ostriches are just the next step more dangerous.

You will find that some people have lived a life with big cattle, then someone else gets trampled to death by a ram. Most animals raised on farms are capable of dealing death. If you are a real chicken you need to raise rabbits. The first farm animal that ever attacked me was a barred rock rooster. The stupid bird ended up in the oven.

Answer 7

What country are you in?  I thought all of the ostrich farms in the U.S.A. went out of business.

You state you know nothing about ostriches.  Here's an important fact you need to know about ostriches....they can completely disembowel you with one strike of their foot.  They can also peck you on top of the head, and leave really nasty painful lumps (like you've been hit with a rock), or worse, they can grab a beakful of your hair, and yank it out so hard, and so fast they remove part of your scalp.  They also look funnier than heck when they swallow a whole orange.  Should I go on, or did I loose you at the "disembowel you with one kick?"

Before you join in on this venture, what is your Uncles market?  Where is he selling the skin, feathers, meat, or eggs?  How steady is his market?  How good are his fences, and corrals for handling these huge birds, with both human, and ostrich saftey in mind?

Do you have a child, or are you planning one any time soon?  How safe will your child be on that farm?  Got any pets you like, and don't want ostriches to stomp into pudding?

Here's a fun video for you to watch on YouTube.  It's a clip from dirty jobs, and gives you an idea of what it's like on an ostrich farm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqAlHjPq_...

I live on a farm.  I've been in agriculture nearly my entire life.  I've had several people try to GIVE me ostriches.  I like keeping my intestines right where they are, thank you very much.  

Ostrich farms in the U.S.A. were a get rich quick scheme.  They failed right and left.  Kind of hard to believe you Uncle has a good market for them...but perhaps he's not in the U.S.A.?

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 year (all ostrich free)

Answer 8

i dont think so...

Answer 9

no

Answer 10

yes, why not? try new things, being with family, getting paid at the same time.