IS IT BEEF OR IS IT EMU? : GANGLY OSTRICH-LIKE FOWL ATTRACTING GAGGLE OF SMALL BREEDERS AND FOR GOOD REASON.Byline: Joe Bigham Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Three ``emu mommas'' are enthusiastic about the prospect of making money from the meat, the eggs, the hide - even the oil - of their exotic birds The Exotic Birds was a pop music group formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1983 by three Cleveland Institute of Music percussion students, Andy Kubiszewski, Tom Freer and Tim Adams. They wrote their own music and were described as synth pop, techno-pop and techno-dance. . Kathy Cabrera, a beautician, sells makeup products made from emu oil Emu oil is an oil made from refined fat of the Emu, a bird native to Australia. It has been used for over 1000 years by the Australian aborigines in the treatment of burns,cut wounds,bruise and as a pain reliever for bone muscle and joints disorder. . Linda Thompson is planning a party to introduce about 20 women to the wonders of emu. Gail Finn hopes her emu operation gets big enough so she and her plumber husband, Mike, ``can retire and do the birds.'' All three women planned to serve emus instead of the traditional turkey to their families Thursday. ``Every one of us have emus in our freezers for Thanksgiving dinner The centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States is a large meal, starring a large roasted turkey. All of the dishes in the traditional American version of Thanksgiving Dinner are made from foods native to North America, according to tradition the Pilgrims received these ,'' Cabrera said. Why the excitement over emus, a gangly gan·gly adj. gan·gli·er, gan·gli·est Gangling. [Alteration of gangling.] Adj. 1. flightless flightless see ratite. bird with a funny looking head, long neck and big body that's sort of a smaller version of the ostrich ostrich, common name for a large flightless bird (Struthio camelus) of Africa and parts of SW Asia, allied to the rhea, the emu and the extinct moa. It is the largest of living birds; some males reach a height of 8 ft (244 cm) and weigh from 200 to 300 lb ? ``In the future, 10, 15 years down the road, I think it will be somewhere between chicken and beef in the grocery store,'' Finn said. Cabrera isn't so sure emus ever will be that common. ``I think it always will be gourmet,'' she said. ``It can't ever be ground beef; it will be more like lobster'' in price. She explained that emu meat sold in this area retails for $9.95 a pound, $6.50 if turned into ground beef. Processing currently costs $5 a pound. An increasing number of farmers all over California are growing emus, including about 240 in this part of Central California Central California can refer to one of several divisions or regions of the U.S state of California:
These three ``emu mommas,'' who enticed a reporter with emu raviolis and Chinese food, all began small operations during the past few years but hope to grow larger. ``It's the ground floor of the industry,'' Cabrera said. Emus live in pens and don't require a lot of space, which is ideal for people like these women who have ranchette-type parcels of only a few acres. ``That's one reason to pick emus,'' said Finn, who has six acres. ``That would support 400-500 chicks a year. I think we can support 12 breeding pair Breeding pair is a pair of animals which cooperate to produce offspring. In contrast to any two copulating animals, the term breeding pair indicates some form of a bond between the individuals. For example, many birds mate for a breeding season or sometimes for life. . We have seven now.'' Cabrera has about 40 birds on two acres. Thompson has six breeding pair on one acre but has sold all their chicks. During a tour, Finn's flock of about 150 yearlings rushed up to see what was going on. ``They're very curious,'' she said. ``They like new people too.'' Separate pens house the breeding birds - one pair to a pen with plastic tarps keeping the emus in one pen from seeing emus mating in the next pen. ``Males will fight over the fence,'' Finn explained. ``They can't see each other during breeding season Breeding season is the most suitable season usually with favorable conditions and abundant food and water when wild animals and birds (wildlife) have naturally evolved to breed to achieve the best reproductive success. .'' The females make noises that sound like bongo bongo (bŏng`gō), spiral-horned antelope, Boocercus eurycerus, found in jungles and thick bamboo forests of equatorial Africa. Shy, elusive animals, bongos never emerge into the open and are seldom seen; they browse singly or in small drums; the males grunt like pigs. ``At night, when the females all start talking to each other, it's eerie,'' Finn said. ``You will think you're in another country.'' Female emus are prolific egg layers; one of hers laid 52 eggs last year, Finn said. And the birds keep on laying until they are in their 20s or 30s. Newly hatched eggs are kept warm in an incubator for 47 days, then are placed in a hatcher for three days before producing a new batch of chicks. Emu eggs, several times the size of a chicken egg, also can be used for omelettes or scrambled. The avocado-green shells are thick enough that they won't break easily, so they can be painted for Easter decorations if the yokes have been sucked out. The meat is the most commercial feature now, but those in the industry think emu oil could be big in the future. The ``emu mommas'' displayed some leather-like goods made from emu hide, and Mike Finn noted that Cadillac uses oily emu feathers to dust new cars before they're painted. Gail Finn said the women entered a chili cook-off at the Special Olympics in Hanford, and the judges couldn't tell the emu meat from beef. ``We were the only booth that wasn't beef,'' she said. ``We were the first ones who sold out.'' CAPTION(S): 4 Photos Photo: (1-2) Long a staple food for Australian Aborigines, the emu, left, is gaining popularity in the U.S. Gail Finn of Visalia, Calif., right, inspects two of the giant fowl. (3-4) Left, emu adorn a Visalia pasture. Above, exotic emu hide is used for boots, belts, purses, wallets and other accessories. Associated Press |
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