The emus are being delivered just after lunch TODAY!!! I finally admitted to Husband that it was six emu chicks and his initial look of shock and horror was immediately replaced with a huge grin, so that was a great relief. As for Son, well, he still doesn’t know but he will be milking the cows for our neighbours when they arrive so by the time he comes back it will be a fait accompli – ha! I have the perfect sentence ready for Son: “go and suck eggs, kid.” You see, I am becoming quite brave!
We now have a special yard for the emus, very big and newly fortified against the foxes, and I’ve been advised to keep them in this yard day and night for at least a couple of weeks until they reorientate themselves to their new surrounding. After that, I should be able to let them out to free range but I will have to be a bit like a bouncer in a nightclub and do the rounds regularly.
It isn’t just Son’s inevitable disapproval that interferes with my excitement. One of my friends said to me, “You do realise that they grow rather large, don’t you?”
Well, yes I do (they are the second largest bird in the world – I must find an ostrich!) Anyway, just in case you didn’t know how large they grow, this Wikipedia photo gives you a good idea. And when they are this big, those foxes will not stand a chance!
They will arrive in a couple of hours – hurray!
jmgoyder 
Can’t wait to be introduced to them – before they get too big! x
Come over tomorrow afternoon?
How exciting Julie. How long does it take for them to get to full size?
Around 8 months!
I love emus – my son calls them 6 foot chooks. Well, they do grow rather tall!
They’ve arrived! I will save that information for tomorrow’s post – oh they are beautiful 6 foot chooks!
Shakes head in wonder 😉
I thought they might be tame-ish but not so – they are farm emus so they are a little freaked out by my attention!
You are very brave, sounds like a hard hat area 🙂
I’m terrified the fox might get in so have decided to borrow Son’s swag and camp out tonight – wish me luck!
I do wish you luck. You wouldn’t be camping out here in the UK, a heavy, and pretty frost greeted us this morning, I’m getting quite good at doing the skaters waltz on the pavements now, although I do tend to spend a lot of time on my rear end 🙂
Oh I used to love skating in Canada!
I’m about to go out now (it’s still light) to see if they’re okay. Camping out doesn’t bother me except for the possibility of cockroaches – you know, the big ones – argh!