# Fertile emu eggs for hatching



## Jersey/guernsey

Nice big eggs form good birds, very docile and easy too work with.
I don't want my chicks until april/may (it's cold in WI) so will have eggs available until the beginning of february. They are $30 each plus shipping. check or postal money order (sorry I don't have paypal)


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## Tiempo

I SO want to try hatching emu eggs, but I don't want emus 

If I can find someone who will buy the chicks I'm in.


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## Jersey/guernsey

I've had a lot of people who want the birds but aren't set up too hatch them.
Myself I'm going to butcher at around turkey size then I won't have to feed them thru the winter.
Emu is quite good rather more like venison then beef thou, and the eggs are delicious


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## Tiempo

I bought a used sportsman this fall that was set up for emu. I took out most of the emu sized dividers but one tray I didn't get to yet still has them.

I can't butcher anything I hatch..I'm a softie where that is concerned.


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## Jersey/guernsey

I cheat, my dad does the butchering and I raise, that way it's not so bad:Bawling:


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## 65284

You are offering fertile eggs, how can you possibly know for certain they are fertile?


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## Jersey/guernsey

These are eggs from a proven pair with no fertility issues so far.
Also I spot check ( cut some of the eggs open with a dremel and look for the bullseye)
although, obviously I can't check any I plan to hatch that way


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## Tiempo

65284 said:


> You are offering fertile eggs, how can you possibly know for certain they are fertile?


Buying and selling eggs for hatching is common practice. Though we can never know 100% if they are fertile without destroying the egg, we go by, as the op said, testing a sampling by opening them and by incubating some ourselves.

Birds are very reliable in general for fertility as long as the parents are mature enough and the deed is being done


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## dunroven

What kind of incubator do you need to hatch emus and what temperature are they generally hatched at? This is interesting! Also, where would you sell the chicks and at what price please?


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## beaglebiz

Tiempo said:


> Birds are very reliable in general for fertility as long as the parents are mature enough and the deed is being done


I think I read somewhere eggs can still be fertile up to two weeks separating the hens from the rooster(chickens)
Id love some but my DH would KILL me. We are not set up for anything larger than a turkey


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## Jersey/guernsey

dunroven said:


> What kind of incubator do you need to hatch emus and what temperature are they generally hatched at? This is interesting! Also, where would you sell the chicks and at what price please?


Any incubator that fits the eggs will work, incubate between 95/99f with 30/35% humidity for 48/54 days. Game swaps and bird fairs have done well for me, price I should think varies by region (around here $85 to $130 per chick is normal). Any other questions just ask


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## Jersey/guernsey

beaglebiz said:


> I think I read somewhere eggs can still be fertile up to two weeks separating the hens from the rooster(chickens)
> Id love some but my DH would KILL me. We are not set up for anything larger than a turkey


I've seen that myself with pigeons, a weasel got into my loft and killed all but one hen 19 days later she layed and started setting darn if those eggs didn't hatch


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## 65284

Jersey/guernsey said:


> These are eggs from a proven pair with no fertility issues so far.
> Also I spot check ( cut some of the eggs open with a dremel and look for the bullseye)
> although, obviously I can't check any I plan to hatch that way


 
I knew the answer, I was just teasing you a bit. I've hatched and reared hundreds of Emu and Rhea. Also sold a lot of hatching eggs on the old EggBid site and a lot on EBay.

I once sold eggs from white Rheas to a lady in Phoenix, Az. she hatched them in a home made bator, when they were about 2 months old she called me frantic, what shall I do with them? "I live in an apartment".


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## motdaugrnds

ROFL, 65284 that is hilarious!

I have an incubator that I use for chicken eggs. It is a simple square type only about 3' high inside. How large are those eggs?


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## dunroven

That's my question too. I have a chicken egg incubator, but I'm thinking emu eggs wouldn't fit in it. Course I don't know how big an emu egg is!

Valorie :grin:


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## 65284

motdaugrnds said:


> ROFL, 65284 that is hilarious!
> 
> I have an incubator that I use for chicken eggs. It is a simple square type only about 3' high inside. How large are those eggs?


 
Did you mean 3' or 3" ? Three inches is too small. Egg size can vary from hen to hen, usually older hens lay larger eggs. Around 4 inches in diameter is what I would call an average size Emu egg.


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## motdaugrnds

Well, it is outside in a cold garden shed; so I just guessed. I've had goose eggs in it; so maybe it is more like 4 "inches" between the wire screen and the lid.


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## dunroven

I'm finding this thread very interesting and I had never done any research on emus or rheas so I did a bit and they have several videos of emus hatching. Pretty neat! They say that emu eggs are generally 6 inches long by 3.5 inches tall. They must be turned at least 3 times a day and preferably up to 5 times per day. You need to watch the humidity level and I forget without looking again, but seems like overall they need to lose about 15% of their weight during the time they are incubating. The chicks are about 10 to 12 inches tall when hatched and in the wild they are so weak that they can't stand by themselves when first hatched and for the first maybe 2 days while absorbing their yolk which makes them prime predator targets including other emus, so the dad comes and sets on their and protects them from harm. 

To show how long it takes to get an emu egg, a chicken normally produces an egg every 24.5 hours but an emu takes 73.5 hours.

This is all really interesting to me! I don't have a big enough bator and I have no heat in my house right now, so winter time is not a good time for me to buy some although I would really LOVE to give it a whirl!


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## 65284

motdaugrnds said:


> Well, it is outside in a cold garden shed; so I just guessed. I've had goose eggs in it; so maybe it is more like 4 "inches" between the wire screen and the lid.


 
In those small square foam incubators, even if the eggs would fit under the lid, Emu size eggs are usually too close to the heating coil, it creates a lethal "hot spot" on the top of the egg. 


I traded for the first Rhea eggs I got, brought them home then it dawned on me, the small incubator I had wasn't big enough.

So, being an incorrigable scrounger, I had some 1" sheet foam packing material I had scavenged from somewhere. Also being a "cobble it together/make it work" type, I cut, glued and taped pieces of the foam into a square to fit and made an extender/collar/spacer, that set on the bottom where the lid normally was. That raised the lid about 12 inches from the original position, I added a small fan, duct taped it to the bottom and set the lid on top. It worked as an ugly but useable incubator.


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## Jersey/guernsey

65284 said:


> I knew the answer, I was just teasing you a bit. I've hatched and reared hundreds of Emu and Rhea. Also sold a lot of hatching eggs on the old EggBid site and a lot on EBay
> 
> once sold eggs from white Rheas to a lady in Phoenix, Az. she hatched them in a home made bator, when they were about 2 months old she called me frantic, what shall I do with them? "I live in an apartment".


_Is EggBid still around? I never sold there but did buy a few eggs years ago. _

That had to be fun! big messy babies in an apartment
You have too wonder what she was thinking when she got the eggs and saw how huge they were.

And for those of you wondering how big an emu egg is. That's a standard size coffee mug, and they're 1 11/2lbs each


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## motdaugrnds

ROFL now that is some egg! Well, my incubator would not handle those unless I got as creative as 65284 did; and I don't see myself doing that this year.


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## fcnubian

This was a very interesting thread! I totally wish I knew someone with an incubator.


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## beaglebiz

I might be interested in buying some blown eggs...they are beautiful!


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## Jersey/guernsey

Yes they are
My sisters make jewelry with the shells.
Blown eggs are $10.00 with $6.00 shipping.


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## carellama

Do you have eggs left? My friend does a special kind of decorating on them but I don't think that she blows them out. I will check with her and see how much she pays


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## Jersey/guernsey

Yes I have eggs available, both blown and full.
I see some really beautiful eggs on Etsy carved with intricate patterns then lit up with a tea light or small candle bulb. I think they sometimes blow the egg out after carving?


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## randishinney

My hubby and I have been taking about having emu. We don't have the area set up yet but we're thinking about getting it started in the spring. Do you sell your fertile eggs often? We would also need to get an incubator big enough for the eggs. We raised emu when I was in high school. Amazing birds! Very very tasty!


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## Jersey/guernsey

usually I sell chicks, but because of the difficulty in shipping them and increased interest in fertile eggs this year I'm selling as hatching eggs, and only hatching by special order, except for my own use.
I really love my emus they are such fun. 
Very personable birds great leftover eaters, orchard guards, and yes tasty The eggs are very good too if you have not tried them do 
Oh did I mention cute!


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## lasergrl

Whats shipping run on one egg usually? Wouldn't mind trying again. A few years ago I had two eggs from ebay get lost in the mail. frozen solid when they finally arrived.


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## Jersey/guernsey

Around $8.00 but I would have box one up too be sure.


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## sriston

I'm seriously considering adding Emus to our homestead, just because they are different and I think they would be fun. Of course, I don't have anything but a chicken egg incubator so I'd have to get something to incubate those eggs. My question is how will these birds do in an environment with other types of poultry and waterfowl? We have chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese, goats and pigs, and everyone happily free-ranges together on our three fenced acres.


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## Jersey/guernsey

Well, mine get along pretty well with our pigeons, pbp's and jersey cows.
In fact mama pig decided she liked the emus house better then hers so moved bag and baggage  no problems. they actually seem to love the cows if one gets out look for the cows and it'll be grazing right alongside. I think goats, geese, and ect would be fine, especially if you raised them together from the beginning.


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## Jersey/guernsey

I'm filling up my incubator and starting the eggs cooking this weekend. I have some room left after starting all I want for myself and can hatch chicks on request. $75.00 per chick for day old/one week. Pickup or I will deliver/meet within forty miles of Monroe WI. Chicks will be hatching beginning of April:happy2:


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