Ostrich Farming in the United Stat 



ES 



57* 



From Watson Pickrell, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



Ostriches 5 Months Old, Salt River Valley, Arizona 



quills of the cut feathers may be removed. 

 At plucking time the ostriches are 

 driven in from the pasture and placed in 

 a small pen surrounded by a tight board 

 fence 5 or 6 feet high. The plucking 

 box is about 4 feet high, 20 inches wide, 

 and 3^2 feet long, open at one end and 

 closed with a door at the other. An os- 

 trich is caught and a hood placed over its 

 head. The hooded bird is very easily 

 handled. It is placed in the plucking 

 box with its head next to the closed door. ; 

 The plucker stands behind the bird while 

 removing the feathers. This is neces- 

 sary, because the ostrich can kick or 

 strike very hard, but it always strikes out 

 in front and never behind, so that the 

 plucker is perfectly safe if he stands in 

 the rear. 



In sorting, the feathers of the male, 

 being more valuable, are kept separate 

 from those of the female. 



The United States is one of the largest 

 consumers of ostrich feathers in the 



world. During the fiscal year io,03-'4 

 there was imported into this country 

 $2,292,515 worth of "raw" or "unmanu- 

 factured" feathers. The feathers pro- 

 duced in America are fully as good as 

 those coming from Africa, and it is 

 claimed that they are broader and finer 

 looking, though some of the manufac- 

 turers contend that they are not as strong 

 and tough as the wild feathers. There 

 seems to be no reason why ostrich farm- 

 ing may not be developed sufficiently in 

 Arizona and California alone to supply 

 all the feathers consumed in America. 



Young ostriches are usually kept in 

 troops of 25 to 50. When they are one 

 year old the males should be separated 

 from the females. When they are 3^4 

 years old the birds should be paired off, 

 each pair being placed in a separate in- 

 closure, which, in case the birds are to 

 graze on alfalfa or other green food, 

 should be large enough to furnish them 

 sufficient food. If they are fed on dry 



