Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-01-08
~on,,soRNIA os1R,cHEs.
!. .r.ctertstios of the Birds-liow They
Are Corraled and Plucked.

...-,.tto of the Birds-IIow They
Are Corraled and Plucked.
The sight of a dog is sufficient to
,.iahten an ostrich badly. At such
,;sion, if permitted so to do, the ostriches
H. the corrals would Immediately be
,roc1ine over the sandy plain, through
waste of tall wild suntlowers, at a gait
..hich would astonish a horse-trainer.
w. skctchley a three dogs on his
tarm, but they are all kept behind the
nmilljngs out of sight of the os-
.u;ohrs. When a keeper ap-
'ro,cbes them to annoy them
inoy emit a kissing noise like a goose,
'nuii try to bite the intruder. They have
;','' s,rSncth in their bills, however, and
no no harm less unless they get a chance to
,;ol, Unlike the emu, which is exhib-
ihI ,ftcn as an African ostrich, they
,''a bnt one toe on each foot. This is
i.sr r;hlc weapon. The bird kicks for
Il s"l' The force is shown by the ex-
Matt of Que bird, which kicked a stout
yn,rd on the side of its corral and broke
:. IN two at one blow. The toe is point
1t II; and will cut like q knife. The
Gu ". which was killed with one kick
% p'I rs breast laid open with an ugly
''",nd. Of the young birds all are per-
s'o.,r shaped. except one which has a
' 'l,,h foot and which walks on the back
et u ,hn dubbed foot, the toe turning up.
, "a Wv s,it of even this bird. is elastic. All
,hn hirds walk precisely after the fashion
aIonted by many young ladies in San
Trsrncisco of late, whose gait may there.
sara ncrhaps, be correctly described in
l ,pa f,t,nre as the "ostrich walk" 1t is
u, '''' e tbc birds stepped on hot gridirons.
The feet are taken briskly, up and raised
higb and the body and head oscillate.
T5is stvle was learned in South Africa
and not in San Francisco, and is as old
"s tbc race of desert birds.
silly fear and ferocity are the charac-
,oris,ics of ostriches everywhere. Some
ara more in-tempered, but all are dan
arrous if not approached with care. No
S5,othod has been discovered by which
thcy can be plucked except that of draw
inc a stocking over the head, leaving a
hole that the bird may breathe. To ac-
nomnljsh this the bird is lured close to
,hr fence of the corral by a dclicacy like
corn, and is then seized by the neck.
Just as soon as it is hooded in this way
Il * comparatively helpless, for it will
not kick unless it can see what it is
kicking at. One way to pluck them
il 10 have a small corral the back
of which is movable. By pushing this
M they could be pinioned. The feath-
rrs are taken from the breast, wings and
tail. all above the dreaded kicking appa-
ra,us. AT present the ostrich keepers
press upon the bird from behind, and az
lone as they keep behind they are safe.
The man who plucks proceeds with dis
patch. An adult bird is plucked every
seven months. and fields about twenty-'
five long feathers and several ''tips.'
The tips arc taken from the wings. The
feathers on the back are left for the pro-
lection of the bird. During this pluck
ing 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 one
wooden and one natural leg was injured
through fear. The boards on the corral
We're outside Of the posts. The bird was
frightened at something and ran against
4 post. something which could not have
been %forescen, and II leg was broken.
A wooden leg was made, or Il sort of a
silt. to take the place of this, but after
4 little the bird died. 1t WAS an object
OF interest TO all visitors.-Sun Fran.
cisco Bulilii1-