The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1876-01-29
Ostrich Farming.

! very perfect system Of Ostrich farming
! has been established at the Cape of Good
Hope. Different practices prevailat diner.
en-, establishments. The birds arc allowed
occasionally to set; but the success when
! has attended the use OF artificial cottilyances
| is so great, that fewer losses occ'r by TINS
means than under natural circumstances,
and the use OF iucubators is becoming very
general. The chicks produced are TO healthy
as to show that they do not suffer from TINS
mode of treatment.
| The general arrangement OF Os'lChiarlhs
| is very similar In all cases. The Restdcdtd
are plenty of space, suitable soil-that Is,
sand and pasture with facilities for grow
ing the proper iOod-cOnvenienccI for shcl-
| ter, and water A wellconductcl farm
would require perhaps $4,000 capital 10 be-
| gin in small way. The industry At the
! Cape is barely eight years old, andmuch has
to be learned by beginner; loss ind dlsap
pontment are frequently experienced at first;
but the occupation is considered q very pro.
| titable one, and is certainly healthy and
agreeable; yet nowhere are paticCe, sagacl-
| ty, and perseverance more Necessary than III
the conduct of good 0srch-farm
! A healthy bird of a week old is worth Go;
at three months it will be worth So; and at
six moaths 600 and more. Feathds may be
| puckcd from the ostrich when year old,
and each years crop will be worth about 81
per bird At five years, the breeder begins
to pair his birds, and each pair will yield
from eighteen to tw1nty-four eggs in sea
son. 1t is necessary to keep the adult birds
in separate paddocks, which are generally
surrounded by wire fencing. The ostrich is
liable TO sudden fits of jealousy. In such a
case frequent quarrels would enIuC if the
| birds were all together in one inClSurc, with
the result, if not Of black eyes, At least of
damaged feathers, and perhaps bDken iegs,
and even death to one of the c,mbatants
The blow from the leg of the os.rlch has
been computed TO be FULLY equal u the force
developed by the kick Of n colt SEVEN months
old. But whatever be the exact force pro.
duced, it is very severe, sufficiently so to
break mans leg.
| The ostrich however, both mde and lc-
male, is quite an exemplary paren, nowith.
standing the popular rumor that, like the
crocodile, it leaves its eggs in the sand to be
hatched simply by the action OF solar heat.
Father and mother take it in turn TO sit on
the eggs, and when the ostrich t,kes his te-
male companions out for their evening pro
menade in the desert, one OF them always re-
mains by the nest This fact is sufficient to
induce many breeders to leave thceggs 10 be
vote their energies to the rearing Of the young
birds and the collection Of the feathers.
These are operations which require very
great care. Regular supplies of ftod-about
TWO pounds day to each adult-ae neCessa.
ry; shelter must be provided To- the night,
and to shield the birds from he violent
storms which frequently burst over the
southern part Of Africa; and there must be
supplies OF sand or pebbles, which the birds
swallow, as aids to digestion. Peslnc is IN
known among those birds OF the lesert, and
they introduce aquantity OF hardsubstanCes
into their giZzard, to assist them il grinding
up their food; just rs the dyspepic feather
less biped takes ms morning biterS to help
the secretion of the gastric juices. It is very
amusing to watch the flock OF young birds
as the attendant enters to scatter heir break.
fast. The moment he appears with his load
of "green.Meat," the youngsters o the ostrich
family trot up to the entrance, AM caper and
dance about in the most grotesiue manner,
and devour their food with evident relish.
lhey are generally tame, and TO certain eX-
tent tractable but as they grow old they
sometimes evince sourness OF temper which
is anything but encouraging 10 the formation
of a near acquaintance with them.
AS the feathers are picked they are sorted
according to their qualify and puiy of col.
or. The pure whites from the wings are called
"bloods," the next quality, prime whites"
"firsts;" seconds" and so on The tail
feathers are not so valuable, and the mo ir.
regular the markings of the cOloredvarieties,
the less valuable are they. "Bods" Will
fetch from forty to fifty pounds STIRLING per
pound.weight in the wholesale malket; and
from this price they range as low as five
shillings per pound.
The quality of the feathers produced by
tame oslriches is fully equal to the best col.
lected from "wild" BIRDS while TIE general
average Is much higher. Notwithstanding
the increasing yield, prices are rising instead
of falling; indeed, good ostrich feshers are
now thrice as dear as they were fifteen years
ago. But II is more than probable that as
the production increases the price will event.
ually fall. Even with reduced prces, the
profits would be sufficiently large render
the ostrich farming very profitable under.
taking, and, rs each year will Increase the
experience of the breeders, the difficulties
will be gradually dimished, and oses more
easily avoided. AS 1t is, this strange indus.
try-the domestcation of the wild birds of
the desert, once regarded as types liberty
and intractabiity-is at the same tim one of
the most interesting and profitable to the
Aft lean trader.