Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1886-03-17
RIM CALrrOiNIA OSTRICH.


1oW II u &eof0oa Managed, md Pfuc6o0-
II vtsa.as DisDositSss.
The night. Of 4 dog is sufficient to
brighten an. ostrich badly. At such
viaion. il permitted SO TO do, the ostriches
II the corrals would Immediately be
speeding over the sandy plain, through
! waste Of tall wild sunflowers, at q gait
which would astonish a horse-trainer.
DR.. Sketchley has three dogs on his
farm, but they nre all kept behind the
buildings out Of sight of the ostriches.
When . keeper approaches them to N
noy them they emit a kissing noise like
q goose and try to bite the intruder.
They have no strength in their bills, and
r harmless unless thew get a chance
to kick. Unlike the emu. which is ex-
hibited often rs the African ostrich,
they have but one toe upon each foot.
This Is a terrible weapon. The bird
kicks forward. The force is shown by
the exploit OF one bird, which kicked a
stout board on the side Of its corral and
broke it in two at one blow. The toe
Is pointed and will cut like q knife. The
bird which was killed with one kick had
his breast laid open with an ugly
wound. OF the young birds all are
perfectly shaped, except one. which
has q club foot and which walks on the
back Of the dubbed foot, the toe turn
Ing up. The gait Of even this bird Is
elastic. All the birds walk precisely
after the fashion adopted by many
young ladies of San Francisco of late,
whose gait may therefore, perhaps, be
correctly described in the future as the
Ostrich walk 1t is as if the birds
stepped on hot gridirons. The feet are
taken briskly up and raised high and
the body and head oscillate. This style
vas learned in South Africa and not in
San Francisco, and is as old as the race
OF desert birds.
Silly fear and ferocity are the char
acteristics of ostriches everywhere.
Some are more il-tempercd, but all are
dangerous il not approached with care.
No method has been discovered by
which they can be plucked except that
OF drawing a stocking over the head,
leaving a hole that the bird may
breathe. TO accomplish this the bird
is lured close to the fence Of the corral
by a delicacy, like corn, and is then
seized by the neck. just as soon as it
is hooded in this way it is comparatively
helpless, for it will not kick unless it can
see what it is kicking at. One way to
pluck them is to have a small corral,
the back Of which is movable. BY
pushing this up they could be p%inioned.
The feathers are taken from the breast,
wings, and tail, all above the dreaded
kicking apparatus. AT present the
ostrich-keepers press upon the bird
from behind, and as long Us they keep
behind they are safe. The man who
plucks proceeds with dispatch. An
adult bird is plucked every seven
months, and yields about twenty-five
long feathers and several tips" The
tips are taken from the wings. The
feathers on the back are left for the
protection of the bird. During this
plucking operation men have been
kicked by the birds, but not to be hurt.
Had the birds had q fair forward kick
the result could hardly have been other
than fatal to the person kicked. The
young ostrich which for some time went
about on n wooden and one natural
leg was injured through fear. The
boards Oh the corral were outside Of the
posts. The bird was frightened at
something and ran against the post,
something which could not have been
foreseen, and one leg was broken. A
wooden leg was made, or a sort Of silt, to
take the place of this, but, after q little,
the bird died. 1t was an object of in
tarest to all visitors. San Francisco
Bulletin.