Great Falls daily tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1895-1921, 1920-11-30

This, in the opinion of the keeper Of
ostriches at the Los Angeles ostrich
farm, is precisely what the ostrich
needs. The queer bird has one of the
meanest dispositions to be found out
side the human family. He exhibits
many symptoms of typical neuroses.
And he possesses peculiar, puritanical
ideas on the questions of sex. In his
prejudices, perversities and stupidltles,
indeed, the bird is almost human.
In the first place. the ostrich is abb
normally finiky about mating Some
birds remain determined bachelors all
their lives, and every one chooses his
mate only with great delay and caution
Usually it takes two or three years of
earnest and patient courtship on the
part of the female District before she en-
snares her prey. But once captured
the male ostrich is her devoted slave
for life He flutters anxiously about
her while she sits on the family eggs
and takes up an unnecessarily combatant
attitude, one deadly toe nail raised for
fight, whenever another bird or the
keeper ventures within ten feet of her
If she dies, moreover, he remains
melancholy widower to the end Of his
days.
When the present keeper came to this
ostrich farm, he very much doubted the
ostrichs sincerely on this point. Il had
heard about it. but | didn't believe it,
he said So when one of the males was
widowed as the result of his wife
getting her head caught in the fence,
the keeper picked ont the finest female
in the flock and offered her as a sub
stitute. She was in the pen just three
seconds. he says, when he had to risk
his own life TO get her out. AS it was,
she received such hard kick that she
nearly died, and she is now IN the
hospital pen. sad and crestfallen bird
"A woman scorDcd.
The female ostrich has no such
scrupieS when it comes to remarrylng,
and is polite, if not enthusiastic, to
every sutton introduced to her. Once
il 4 long while. also, male bird is
found who is not SO sternly monogamls-
tic There is one Of this type at the
farm who has condescended to epouse
two wives. They call him Brigham
Young
A Deadly Kick.
When the ostrich administers a fight
ing kick with his great pointed toe nail
it is usually all over with his victim. be
it bird lower animal or man. This
fact combined with his tricky, mean
disposition, makes the care OF ostrlhes
an exciting occupation. Fortunately,
however, the bird is easily subdued by
q very simple thing-a black stocking.
All the keeper has to do is to slip
long black stocking over the head Of an
obstreperous ostrich and he immediate
Nv becomes as harmless as hen
Blinded i nthis fashion by stocking.
one of the prize ostricheS at the farm
even permits himself to be harnessed r.
a light wagon. which he pulls IN giant
ungainly strides around the path at the
farm. greatly to the delight Of the
tourists. who love to have themselves
photographed III the amazing rig.
The Los Angeles ostrich farm IS
merely tbe city headquarters Of much
larger farm which is situated far out
in the valley away from the path of the
travelling public There hundreds of
ostrches are kept in a semi wild state
and great acres Of alfalfa grown for their
food Bit as the city farm is an exact
duplicate on a smaller scale, the tourist
feels that he has received his money s
worth when he pays his fifty cents to
see how ostrich feathers are produced
III California
AT one end Of the enclosure in which
the few city birds are contained is
small incubator plant. Here few Of
the huge, speckled eggs. weighing any
where from three and half to five
pounds, are always on exhibit. Visitors
are permitted to handled them, and occa
sionally they are sold, for, contrary to
popular belief ostrich eggs are quite
palatahlc Ostrich hens lay on an aver
age Of every other day during the laying
season The eggs take forty-two days
to hatch in the incubator (the birds are
never allowed to do their own hatchingl
and after the chicks emerge from the
shell they are left in the incubator for a
couple Of days until they are dry.
Then they are placed in the brood pens,
until they are six or eight weeks old.
1t il at this age that the ostrich per
forms his famous silly trick of burying
his head in the sand; which is not 50
silly. after all, because in such a posi-
ton he looks like a large bunch Of dry
grass.
When eight weeks old the babies are
transferred TO runs enclosed by wire
fence. They grow at the rate Of foot
Il month until they are six months old.
when they are supposed to have reached
their full height. According 10 the
keeper the males and females look alike
until they reach this age. when the
feathers Of the male begin to turn black
and those Of the female remain gray
This change Of color seems to be a
clever scheme of Natures for protect
ing the young: for the feathers of the
female. who sits on the nest during tie
day match the color of the sand and
those of the male who guards the nrst
at night, annot be seen in the dark.
Grown In Six Months.
At the age of six months, also, the
birds receive their first clipping. and
thereafter are clipped at intervals Of
nine months. The feathers are never
plucked, but are clipped within two
inches Of the body The short end of
quill left heals over, falls out. and a
new one starts to grow in its place
From 20 to "a plumes are obtained
from each wing of the ostrich, in addi
tion Of a number of small feathers, every
one of which can be used commercially
Often $50 worth of feathers are AIKEN
off one bird at q clipping.
The ostrich adults cannot be- trusted
III the same pen with their own offspring,
for whom they cherish no affection
whatsoever. Usually. in fact their i'm
pulse is to kill the young ones on sight.
In the wild state they are tender
parents, but the keeper explained that
here at the farm under the incubator