OSTRICH FARMING IN THE UNITED STATES 



OSTRICH farming in the United 

 States, while still in its infancy, 

 is becoming a profitable indus- 

 try in Arizona and California, and it is 

 believed that in a few years we shall not 

 be obliged to import ostrich feathers from 

 abroad. Mr Watson Pickrell, in the last 

 yearbook of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture, gives an exceedingly interesting ac- 

 count of the growth of this industry, 

 from which the facts in this article are 

 derived. 



More than half the ostriches now in 

 the United States are the progeny of a 

 single pair owned in Arizona in 1891. 

 Great progress has been made in the last 

 five years, and there are now 2,500 os- 

 triches on farms in the United States. 

 Of these, 1,740 are in Arizona and the 

 remainder in California, Florida, and Ar- 

 kansas. 



Where good alfalfa pasture has been 

 available, the birds bred in America have 

 grown larger than those first imported. 

 A full-grown fat ostrich will weigh from 

 375 to 450 pounds. He will stand 8 feet 



high, but can easily 



reach to a height of 

 10 or 11 feet. 



Ostriches thrivebest 

 in a warm, dry cli- 

 mate, but can be 

 grown in any part of 

 the southern states 

 and territories of this 

 country. In a moist 

 climate they should 

 have protection from 

 cold and rain. 



Ostriches come to 

 maturity when about 

 four years of age. 

 The female matures 

 from six months to a 

 year before the male, 

 but she will seldom 

 lay a fertile egg until 

 she is y/2 years old. 

 The nest is a round 

 hole in the ground, 



which the male scoops out with his feet. 

 At first the female may not take the nest, 

 but may lay her first eggs on the ground ; 

 whereupon the male will roll them into 

 the nest. Generally, after the male has 

 put 3 or 4 eggs in the nest, the female 

 will lay there. In about 30 days she 

 will lay 12 to 16 eggs, and will be ready 

 to commence incubation. Incubation 

 takes 42 days. Any good, well regulated 

 incubator can be successfully used, pro- 

 vided it is constructed on a large enough 

 scale to accommodate ostrich eggs, which 

 are 5 inches in diameter and 7 inches 

 long. 



The ostrich is plucked the first time 

 when six months old, and should be 

 plucked about every eight months there- 

 after during its lifetime. The only feath- 

 ers removed are those of the wing and 

 tail. The process of plucking consists 

 in cutting the tail feathers and one row 

 of the largest quill feathers in the wing 

 with pruning shears, and drawing by the 

 hand those of the remaining two or three 

 rows in the wing. Two months later the 



From Watson Pickrell, U. S. Department of Agriculture 



Ostriches 5 Days Old, Salt River Valley, Arizona 



