photo courtesy of Friends in Photography

Mac and Tosh – our two emus, have been a part of our family since 2006.  You can visit them and wave to them when you visit our orchard.  They are one of the first stops on our ‘orchard walk.’  They’re not the friendliest creatures but they are really neat to look at.  In the spring they also lay some really beautiful eggs that we have blown out in the store for sale - or you can by a painted one.

Fun facts about emus:

• Largest bird native to Australia
• It is the second largest bird in the world (the ostrich beats them out in this department)
• Emus have two sets of eyelids – one for blinking and one to keep the dust out
• Emu feet are long, with three toes. One toe on each foot has a long talon, for fighting.
• Emu feathers are soft and light-brown with dark tips. Each feather has a double shaft.
• Emus can grow to between 5 to 6.5 feet. 
• They weight up to 130 pounds – females tend to be slightly larger than males.
• Males (Mac) make a grunting sound like a pig and females (Tosh) make a loud booming sound.
• The emu belongs to a family of flightless birds called Ratites. Most Ratites are now extinct, and only the emu, ostrich, cassowary, kiwi and rhea are alive today.
• Emus are fast and can sprint at 30 miles per hour.
• Emus can swim and if they have to, but they prefer to just play in the water.
• Emus feed on grains, flowers, berries, soft shoots, insects, grubs and whatever else they can find.