The Parker post. (Parker, Ariz.) 1910-1918, 1911-09-16
OSTRICH INDUSTRY
VERY PROFITABLE
Arizona Now Has 5000 Ostriches
Valued at $4OO Each-Desert Con-
dications Ideal For Raising the Big
Awkward Birds.

! The strides being made in raising
ostriches in Arizona indicates that
within a few years this state will be
the greatest ostrich feather pro-
Queer in the world. Within Is miles
of Phoenix there are 5000 ostriches,
worth approximately $500 each. There
are many farms in that section where
from Is to $500 birds are being cared
! for, and all these farms are for the
purpose of raising birds and produc
ing feathers for the market-there is
not "show place" there.
Thirty years ago there was one
pair of Ostriches, and no one knew
anything about them or how to care
for them. Today the farmers of the
Salt River valley are more expert
than are the farmers of South Africa,
where ostrich raising has been going
ON for many years. The desert sec
ton is actually better for raising os
tricheS than Africa. The breeders of
Arizona are progressive. They are
now breeding for betterment in
every way.
bird averaged in value about $25
tper year; the manager of one of the
big Phoenix farms has bred his birds
up to an average of $55 and is push
ing forward with the idea that in a
short time the average will be SIS.
w. M. Cross, manager of the Pan
American, is giving more careful at
tention, possibly, to this breeding for
hetterment than any of the others
and is successful in it. He thinks now
that it is possible to produce a bird
all the feathers pure white. To the
novice this would seem like joke
nut maybe it will come to pass, and
if it does the ostrich business will
be more profitable than it is now by
a great deal The returns from the
business are large now, though the
feathers are sold to eastern commits
sion men. At this time feathers
bring from $25 to SIS per pound, the
higher price for the largest, perfect
feathers of which there are few on
bird, and of which 12O weighs a
pound The average price all round
is $50, making a total for the bird of
about $45 per year. Each bird is
plucked every eight months, averag-
ing pound to the plucking.
AS demonstration has been made
that Arizona conditions are ideal for
the successful raising of Ostriches,
the business will improve rapidly.
When 20 years ago a man took a
pair of birds and ii chicks to Phoe
nix with the intention of starting an
ostrich farm for profit, he was the
brunt of many jokes, and when all
but two of those birds were killed
through ignorance in handling, it
looked blue to him as we'll But he
!, persisted, studied, exercised great
care and the 5000 birds now in the
valley are practically the result,
while the soothing has given way to
emulation. Each hen lays from 70
to so eggs a year, the eggs weigh
ing an average of 4 pounds each.
Some are Matched and some are sold
to curious persons at so cents each.
Zach chick lis worth S. when it emerg
es from the shell, and up to $500 and
$500 by the time it is four years old,
while in some cases especially fine
birds (breeders) are worth up to
$1,000 and more. The birds live to
80 years and over, and the feathers
arc prime from to so years. South
African breeders who have been in
the Salt River valley on investigation
state that the conditions in Arizona
are better than in Africa, but that
the latter birds are bred up better.
The Improvement is on the upgrade
row, and of course before long we
sEali excel Africa, as we have the
Foundation, the enterprise and the
energy to make the best of today the
poor of tomorrow.
AS knowledge of the habits and
necessities of the ostrich increases
the industry will advance quickly.
The barren lands of the desert are
ideal for this business, so there is
reason for the belief that a few
years hence Arizona will be possibly
the greatest ostrich feather producer
in the world