Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-03-03
OSTRICH FARMING.
What is Being Done I'm This
Line in Southern California.

Line in Southern California.
What return do birds give on the
capital invested? This would be the
first question asked by any one think
ing of going in for farming. 1t is a
question very few, even of those that
have been at it for some years, could
answer, and of which the public here
have as yet but little idea. Judging
from experience had with birds here
the last twelve months, it is my opin-
ion that this industry will assume i'm
mense proportions in very few years
and outrival that of South Africa. The
French have made great efforts to in
troduce ostrich farming in Algiers, but
it does not seem to have taken much
root there. Birds are also, to a small
degree, kept in tame state in Egypt.
The North African ostrich is consider
ed to give more valuable feather than
the South African, it being longer in
the fluff. A few years ago two pairs
of birds were imported at Port Eliza
beth, South Africa, from Barbary.
Here is an opening for some specu-
lator to import some here. The Mel
bourne Acclimatization Society i'm
ported some into Australia some fif-
teen years ago, but they have only
slightly increased, and the expert
ment as yet can hardly be considered
success. A few other small lots
have also been introduced into some
of the other Australian colonies. A
shipment of over a hundred birds
took place from Cape Town to Buenos
Ayres in 1880, but most of them died
on the voyage.
Before endeavoring to show the
profits derivable from birds, it would
be well to state for the benefit of the
incredulous that 1 have no birds of
my own for sale nor have l any in
terest in the farm; am working-re
ceiving simply a monthly stipend.
10 the point: Say man buys ten
young birds seven months old-at
which age they have just given their
first crop of feathers, which are of lit.
tie value. He pays 5000 apiece for
them, and keeps them in a paddock
say an acre in extent--for three years.
Two acres of alfalfa will keep these
birds a year, reckoning ten tons per
acre. During the rainy season, when
the alfalfa does not grow, they can be
supplied with alfileria, which is just
as good. When the birds become ac-
customed to the farm they can be al
lowed the run OF his orchard or vine
yard, if he has any, after the fruit is
gathered, for they will keep down the
weeds and do but little damage to the
vines or trees. No grain need be
given them when they get suffi-
cheney of green fodder. His returns
will be about as follows, reckoning
three pluckings in the three years:
One hundred and fifty prime feath-
ers, one and three -fourths pounds
secondary and tail feathers, altogether
three pounds in weight from each
bird, the value of which will be:
so primes at 81 each ............ $4,000
| 1s4 pounds seconds and tails at $50
per pound d................ SI.OO
Total .............. ........... .$237. 5O
Or, $237.5O from each bird, multi
piled by 10, gives $2375 from his birds
for that period. His outlay will be
10 birds at 5000 each ........$2 1900
| *3 acres land at 500. .............. 300
Cost Of paddock, $50, and time in
Interest on $245O for years at 8
per cent. ................-........ olO
Expenditure .... ............$3 5000
Returns 1915
Balance ............,....,...* 6oo