TheReview

Wednesday, December 9, 1992 — C5

by Paul Wyke
The Review

People shopping for the per-
fect tree at the Saanichton
Christmas Tree farm are turning
their heads for a second look
this year.

Two recently acquired pairs
of breeding ostrich are the latest
attention-grabbers at the farm.
Boomer, a three and a half-

LOUISE POKES HER curious
head out to meet people.

year-old blue-neck ostrich, and
his mate Louise, a two and a
half-year-old blue/black-neck
cross were purchased from a
farm in Oklahoma in mid-
November.

And the second pair, Rambo
and Bridget, both blue-neck
ostrich, arrived from Oregon
last Wednesday.

Farm co-owner Joan Fleming
hopes to start the first “ostrich
dynasty” on the Saanich Penin-
sula.

“Weve got restaurants
knocking down our door
already looking for ostrich
meat. But right now, the birds
are too valuable as breeding
stock,” she said.

Acquiring the birds isn’t easy
and definitely isn’t cheap.

According to Fleming, a pair
of breeding ostrich usually run
between $45,000 and $60,000
US.

Once the birds are purchased,
there are also high costs associ-
ated with caring and raising the
African animals.

Ostrich eat about four
pounds of specially formulated
pellet type feed a day, Fleming
explained.

Unlike cattle, who require 15
pounds of feed in order to gain
one pound of flesh, the ostrich
require a significantly smaller
amount for less weight gain.

“For every 1.7 pounds of
feed they eat, they gain a pound
of flesh,” Fleming said. “They
grow up fairly quickly as you
can imagine.”

Once the birds reach sexual

Ostrich farm turning heads in Saanichton

maturity — two years for the
females and closer to three or
four years for the males — their
mating season starts in April
and runs through until October.

In that time, a female ostrich
usually lays between 30 and
100 eggs, each weighing about
three-and-a-half pounds.

An extensive history of rais-
ing chickens, ducks and exotic
pheasants on their property
gives the Fleming family a

‘For every 1.7
pounds of feed
they eat, they gain
a pound of flesh.
They grow up fairly
quickly as you can
imagine’

solid level of confidence for
raising the birds.

But finding a veterinarian in
the area with the knowledge to
routinely check the newcomers
was a different story.

The family approached Dr.
Allister Bryson who has cared
for their dogs and other animals
over the years.

“We gave him a lot of read-
ing material, a video and even
took him with us to a seminar

on the ostrich. It has really

been a learning process for
everybody.” Fleming said.

In the history books, scien-
lists believe that the ostrich
developed from early reptiles
more than 200 million year ago.

Today, the “living dinosaurs”
still have reptile-like scales on
their legs and feet.

“There is also a small claw
protruding from the tip of their
wings,” Fleming said.

The birds, native to northern,
southem and easter Africa can
accelerate to 40 miles per hour
in two seconds and can also
cruise at 30-mph for more than
25 minutes, she explained.

By the time an ostrich is
six-months-old, it’s almost full
grown but their lives have just
begun.

A healthy ostrich, about
nine-feet tall and weighing 450
pounds, can live to the age of
75 and breed until 45.

Once the Flemings have
established a breeding stock,
they plan to sell some of the
birds for meat and others to
interested breeders in the area.

Currently in Canada, there
are about 1,500 ostrich regis-
tered with the Canadian Ostrich
Association.

There are also provincial
organization for the birds
across Canada.

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