J. Delacour—Rheas



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and feed. It has also the advantage of preventing the newly-hatched

chicks from straying and coming to grief, as they are liable to be

killed by females or get lost and chilled. As the eggs are laid at several

days’ intervals, all those in the same nest do not begin incubating at

the same time, and the young ones may be hatched on different days.

It is better to remove the first hatched chicks, as the cock is apt to

leave the nest with a few, leaving the other eggs, which are thus soon

spoilt.


Rheas’ eggs can be hatched in an incubator, which has to be kept

very moist and 6° to 8° lower in temperature than for domestic fowls’

eggs. Cock Rheas will rear their own chicks, but it is often difficult

in that case to provide them with suitable food and shelter, and they

are inclined to walk them to death ; also accidents are frequent.

I find it much safer to take the young ones as soon as they are hatched

and to put them into a small movable house provided with a coal

stove as used for young chickens. Besides the necessary heat, young

Rheas are thus kept in safety out of dampness on a wooden floor

covered with straw. They are fed on cut-up green food such as dandelion,

lucerne, clover and spinach, lettuce or any other soft salad being avoided,

to which biscuit meal and bran are added, as well as some phosphate

of lime. The first day or two they may not know well how 7 to feed

and must often be offered food from the hand. They soon learn to

pick it up by themselves. If birds a few days or w r eeks older are available,

it is often convenient to put one or two among newly born chicks,

as they will teach them readily how* to eat.


The heated hut is placed in a field so that a small run with very

good short grass and clover can be arranged round it for the young

Rheas to be let loose in after four or five days when the weather permits.

After three weeks they can remain outside all day in all sorts of weather,

as they take shelter in the hut whenever wanted. The artificial

heat can be stopped after one month or six weeks, according to the

weather and season, and w r hen four months old they can sleep outside

and be let out in a large field. They grow fast and although they only

become adult in their second year, they almost reach full size w'hen

a year old.


There are two different species of Rheas : the Common Rhea



