The record-union., 1895-10-05
CALIFORNIA OSTRICH FARMS
Some Interesting Facts About Their
Management.

Management.
Although the ostrich industry in Cali
fornia has not extended as its projectors
propesied, and although ostrich owners
have had TO do as much, perhaps, as show
men as they have as plume producers,
still the birds have lived and shown that
California suits this notable bird. The
latest accounts of the Southern California
ostrich ventures we find in the corre-
spondence of the New York Sun, and it
has a possible interest for Californians.
There are two ostrich farms in Califor
mia. One is at Norwalk and the other at
Coronado Beach, the resort just across the
bay from San Diego, kept by w. II. Bent
ley. The farm has sixty-tive birds. They
eat all sorts of vegetables, but above all
things they like oranges. The avidity
with which they seize and gulp down
whole oranges is at once startling and
amusing. When their keeper appears
with fine orange in his hand there is
scramble and fluttering of great, fluffy
wings. The fortunate fellow who gets
the fruit bolts it at once and stands blink
ing his satisfaction while the orange
slowly travels by easy stages down his
long throat. Cabbage leaves, beet tops.
natural grasses, alfalfa. bits OF broken
shell and gravel are all esteemed great
luXuries by these ungainly birds.
\ three -months-old chick stands fully
four feet high. The female does not ma
ture until four years old, nor the male un
til five. The color of the young birds is
brown in general effect, and the hen re-
tains that hue. AS the cock nears ma
turity he turns deep, glossy black and
gets a row of pure white plumes among
those of Jet. Down the front of each leg
is stripe of vivid red, and ring of the
same color surrounds the big, vicious
eyes, giving the creature peculiarly rak
ic,h q 4 tod III
is at times very ugly to manage, and the
hens, too. must be very carefully ham
died. They particularly dislike strangers
and visitors are always cautioned to keep
q long way from the paddock.
y Hatching.-As fast as the birds mate
the pairs are confined in the paddock.
Just after the rainy season sets in the
hens begin TO lay. The nest is most
primitive arrangement-merely' y an exca-
vation, about three feet across. scratched
in the sandy soil. Every other day an
egg Is deposited in this nest until the
hen is satisfied with the number. Then
the cock turns to and does the principal
part of the sitting. Every afternoon at
o'clock he relieves the hen and does not
quit the nest until 8 o'clock the next
morning, thereby giving the female only
the short daylight watch. The usual
custom, however. is to remove the eggs
to an incubator as fast as they are laid.
In this case the hen will often lay thirty
eggs before resting. Then, after an inter-
val of six weeks, she resumes her work.
The Ostrich farmer can count upon three
periods OF productiveness in year, an
aggregate of seventy-five to ninety eggs
from each hen. In California the eggs
hatch in forty days-two days sooner
than in Africa. The uumated birds are
allowed to herd, and are known as the
feather troop.
Plucking. plucking comes once
in ten months, and it is difficult under
taking. The first plucking takes place
when the chick is six months old. The
feathers are of inferior quality and are
used TO make busters. The first feathers
are called spadones. When the chick ia
one wear old its feathers can be used for
trimmings. At two years a good plume
can be obtained, and after that the bird is
q regular producer of fine plumes. AS
rule each wing furnishes 104 plumes,
while about rs are obtained from the
tall making 300 feathers to each bird. The
feathers are termed "boos" in ostrich
slang. An average feather bird yields
one and one-fourth pounds of feathers at
plucking, those of the cook being of
heavier and more valuable quality y,han
those OF the hen. Body feathers are not
taken, but are picked up during the
moulting season and used for trimmings,
boas and collars.
The average weight of a full-grown
male ostrich is l75 pounds. While to the
uninitiated the difference in birds is
slight. it is as apparent to the breeder as is
the difference In sheep or cattle. An
ostrich expert will choose a compact,
large boned bird, and the California
bred ostriches are fine specimens of this
style.
The life of an ostrich is usually thirty
years. The birds are sold at various
prices. a chick commonly brings S30
a three-year-old bird, $500; fine breed
ing pair, 81, 900
The prime white feathers sell for S75
pound at wholesale, and as much as
81 50 is often received for single plume
of unusual excellence. The next in
value are the long black plumes, then
the long drab ones from the hen. The
average value Of the pluoking from
single bird is S35. and, as it is plucked
three times in two years, the value of the
annual product in plumes for each bird
is about 50.