Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1891-01-22
AN OSTRICH FARM.
AN AFRICAN INDUSTRY IN
CALIFORNIA.
Profitable Birds to Raise-How
OstricheS are Hatched by
Means of Incubators - An
Ostrich Plucking.

means OF Incubators An
Ostrich Plucking.
A mile below Santa Monica, Cal. is
an ostrich farm of something like sixty
or seventy birds. Some of these are OF
the original stock brought from Cape
Colony in 1882, but most OF them are
natives. These awkward birds are n
never-ending source of interest to the
tourist, ahd many an honest two-bits
drops into the slot at the gate entrance
as the fee for seeing the osiriches. But
the South African bird has proved profit
able on American soil, not alone as IN
attraction for Sunday garden or side
show for land boom. Every bird is
worth money, and every bird makes its
| owner money.
There are at least half dozen ostrich
farms in Southern California. They have
ceased to be curiosity there, and each
now represents a commercial enterprise.
Americans buy one-half the millions of
ostrich feathers produced annually. 1t is
estimated that this country expends 49,,
600, 600 year for these ornaments. Each
ostrich when full grown yields a feather
income Of from 5000 to $500 per annum.
The elegant, long, black and white
plumes sell for $5 each at the farms, and
readily bring $40 each at retail in New
York or Chicago.
Every feather has a value. If it is
sufficiently large for use it is worth at
least 10 cents. The very small ones,
otherwise useless, make up into cheap
souvenirs and are eagerly purchased by
visiting tourists at prices varying from 10
cents to 81. The plumes produced in
Southern California are fully as valuable
as those from the far-away Cape Colony
The eggs, if fertile, sell for $25 each
and generally from 10 to 80 per cent. of
all eggs produced will hatch. If not fer.
tile the shells are in demand at from Sc
to So each as curios and ornaments. A
young ostrich just out of the she'll is con-
sidercd equivalent to $50, and his value
increases until he is full grown, when
$500 is low market price.
The expense of maintaining an ostrich
farm is comparatively slight. The birds
in this country are usually healthy; their
appetites are appalling, but they are salts
fed with alfalfa, cabbage and crushed
bones for a regular diet. On occasions
they expect large and small pebbles, bits
of iron, old shoes, tin cans and such deli
cacies. A hungry ostrich is not particu-
lar about his food. 1t is merely ques-
tion of deglutition with him. If what he
eats will go down-or rather up-his
somewhat elastic throat for he eats and
drinks head downward) he feels safe to
trusts his digestive organs to do the rest.
The senses of sight, smell and hearing
of the ostrich are keen. He is very
timid, and is startled by slight noise
He can see man at distance of three
miles, and the ostrich hunter who ap-
proaches his game with the wind will be
discovered long before he is within gun
shot.
Ostriches are not only cautious and able
to run at great speed, but they are fight
ers. A stroke of one Of the powerful
wings will fell man. and kick from a
full grown bird would be more disastrous
than well-directed blow from the right
arm of John L. Sullivan. Ostriches are
very curious, and their inqulsitiveness
will sometimes lead them into trouble, but
if injured in any way and they escape,
nothing can persuade them to repeat the
same experiment.
One day at the Santa Monica ostrich
farm, keeper accidentally knocked the
top rail off one of the paddocks. A
large male ostrich had been watching
him with interest. The rail fell upon
the birds neck and caused him some
pain. He rushed away from danger,
and, though not alarmed by the presence
of any other keeper, he never recovered
his confidence in the one to whom he
charged his mishap, but when the keeper
appeared took post at the farthermost
, end of the inclosure, and could not be
coaxed to come within reach of him.
J The ostrich egg shell is sometimes
one e-sixteenth of an inch thick. 1t is
fully twenty-fonr times the size of an or
dinary hens egg. Incubation requires
forty days, during which period the male
and female alternate in the domestic duty
OF keeping the eggs warm. Most of the
Matching is now done by incubators A
three e-hundred- egg incubator has a ca
pacity for but twenty-sevcn ostrich eggs.
At the farm to which special reference
has been made | saw the birds on the
nest, and the young ostriches after they
were removed from the nest are to be
seen.
The eggs at this sitting nearly all
Matched. The nest consisted of pile of
sand in the center of the small field as
| Sgntu 10 tUc TWO DIccucTS. ut Hltlt
bird manifested the utmost interest in
the business in hand and devoted more
than fifteen hours q day to the maternal
duty of sitting on the eggs. When his
mate was on the nest he would shield her
from the excessive heat of that semi
tropical sun by extending his ample
wings over her The two ostriches were
models of parental affection. The ex-
emplary conduct of the male specially
won my admiration, for he was ever on
the alert to render assistance to his patient
spouse, and when the little fellows pecked
their way through the hard shell he kept
vigilant guard over them. The old story
of neglect IF Its offspring is clearly dis
proved. There are no feathered animals
more dutiful.
The old birds are not awkward, but
the young ones have no sense whatever,
and so it is necessary to remove the lat
ter as soon as possible after they escape
from the shell to prevent them from
wandering into danger. 1t requires
skillful coaxing aud no little maneuvcr-
ing to eLtice the fond parents from the
nest, but this accomplished, the young
ostriches are transferred to sand box in
the sun, where they must have close at
tention all day long to keep them from
mishaps which their utter lack of discre.
tion and extreme awkwardness would
certainly bring upon them.
At night they are placed in an incuba,
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