Grasmere Ostriches | Accessories | Wallets | Handbags | ostrich eggs

General Info

The ostrich is the world’s largest bird. It cannot fly but can run up to 70 kilometres (43 miles) an hour. Although the ostrich is native to Africa it is successfully farmed in other parts of the world.

Contrary to popular belief ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand. It is true however that they have a very small brain in relation to the rest of their bodies. The ostrich eye (about the size of a billiard ball) is in fact larger than its brain.

An ostrich’s best defence against danger is its sharp two toed foot. An ostrich kicks forward and can indeed deliver a deadly blow to an attacker (or a farm vehicle!). If charged by an ostrich the best line of defence is lying flat on the ground as they will be unable to use their forward kicking force.

Grasmere Ostriches

The average life span of an ostrich living in the wild is 30-40 years. A fully grown ostrich may weigh up to 160 kilograms and stand 2 meters tall.

Chicks are born with small black and brown feathers which are later replaced by grey plumage. While females maintain their grey appearance a male as he matures will develop distinct black and white feathers.

Grasmere Ostriches

Egg Incubation

One female ostrich will lay between 40 to 100 eggs a year, although not all these eggs will be fertile. Males are polygamous with a few females sharing one nest. In the wild males and females share nesting duties. Eggs hatch in 42 days.

On a working farm such as Grasmere though, nests are checked twice a day. Eggs are removed to be incubated in a controlled environment. After the eggs have been cleaned they are placed in “setters” where they incubate at a constant temperature of 35.9 C for 5 weeks. During the second week the eggs are “candled” to determine their fertility. Unfertile eggs are removed, emptied and cleaned to be sold in our boutique. At the beginning of the sixth week the eggs are moved to the “hatchery” where the chicks are born. The average weight of a newly hatched chick is 750g.

After one or two days in the hatchery the chicks are moved to small mobile camps on lucern fields. Besides lucern chicks also eat special grain pellets and small stones, needed for digestion. At night they sleep in crates in small corrugated-iron huts. They live there for 4-6 weeks after which they are moved to bigger camps. Ostrich chicks are highly susceptible to the elements and need to be kept dry and warm.

At about 8 months the birds are weighed and tagged by a vet for Newcastle disease, a very contagious disease that attacks poultry. At about 14 months they are ready for slaughter and sent to specialised abattoirs. Their meat is fat free and very low in cholesterol.

Grasmere Ostriches