Ostriches On Line - The World's Largest International Ostrich Company
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Newsletter - 23 August 1997

Publishers of the "World's Largest Ostrich Newsletter"

This newsletter goes out to 10,503 people in 112 countries

In this packed issue

1)  A message from Steve Warrington
2)  Diatomaceous Earth ...... and the benefits of using this all
    natural product for your Ostrich and Ratite farm
3)  Animal Protein in Ostrich and Ratite feed
4)  Some quick Ostrich facts for those new to the industry
5)  2 delicious Ostrich meat recipes
6)  And the winner is ......... our June/July competition winner plus
    your chance to win either the Ostrich Farm Management Book, Ratite
	Encyclopaedia, Farming Video or Recipe Book
7)  In future issues
8)  Unsubscribing

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A message from Steve Warrington

Firstly, on behalf of myself and all the staff at Ostriches On Line, we
would like to say a great big thank you to all our subscribers who took
advantage of our Summer Madness Sale. This was the most successful sale we
have had so far ........ and all the orders we received have now been
dispatched ...... so if you have not yet received your package it will
certainly be arriving soon.

Secondly ..... and in response to some delightful emails and
correspondence from many people around the world, I'd like to clear up a
few misnomers and rumours about Ostriches On Line.

Whilst we are honoured to be linked with and/or thought of as being a
subsidiary of other companies (which by the way, have ranged from us
being an offshoot of other businesses in South Africa, Australia, the
USA and the UK) we are happy to report that none of it is true.

Whilst we do deal with over 20 major suppliers in all 5 continents,
none of them have yet bought us, own us, control us, own stock or shares
in us, nor do we solely represent any one company in any one market.

We certainly do live in a fast paced, communication hungry world, and
it is easy for people to "see" things that are not there, to "hear"
things that were not really said and to believe "rumours and gossip" from
those who don't really know.

So, without providing my complete life history, (it's not boring but
it is incredibly long) I'd like to briefly let you all know that I'm
British, (so now you know why some words are spelt oddly) I was born
and raised near Manchester, England where I return frequently and my
favourite sport is Cricket.

In addition, I'm sure you will all be enthralled to know that today
England beat the Australians in the sixth and final cricket test match
during a very exciting finish - which for the  first time was broadcast
on "Real Audio" over the Internet - and my secretary has been totally
bored to tears listening to test match special .... she is so glad it's
over!!

Although England won today, we lost the 6 match series 3 - 2, so will
all those people from Oz with whom I had a bet please email me so I
can pay up. (Oh ....... and those people that said they would send
an article about the Australian Ostrich Association convention .... please
can you send it within the next week or so!!)

Anyway, I started Ostriches On Line because my Dad (Happy Birthday Dad
for the 11th August) purchased some Ostriches in the UK and we now
have offices in both the US and the UK as well as agents around the
world. I quickly discovered that the USA was "the place" for
the Internet and as I have a US green card I set up our main presence
just outside Chicago.

Since we started, we have formed many close relationships with clients,
companies & suppliers in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, South America
and of course Canada and the USA ...... and we are continually developing
and growing our business to cater to those people who require the best
Ostrich livestock and products that are available.

So ...... if you want to know anything about us, who we are and how we
can help you profit and develop a worthwhile Ostrich related
business ...... just write to us and you will get a reply ..... although
we receive anywhere from 150 to 250 Ostrich business emails every day
we do reply to everyone and we are confident we can help you .... without
you having to get incorrect second hand information from those who are
possibly a wee bit jealous and/or misinformed.

To contact me send an email to
steve@ostrich.com

or phone, fax or write to
Steve Warrington
Ostriches On Line
119 N 10th Ave
Melrose Park    IL   USA     60160
Tel +1 (708) 452-7596
Fax +1 (708) 452-7510

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Diatomaceous Earth ...... and the benefits of using this all natural
product for raising Ratites.

Ron Prewitt provides a brief introduction to Diatomaceous Earth.

D.E. is the abbreviation for Diatomaceous Earth.  It is a completely
natural product.  There is only one ingredient, diatom skeletons.

Diatoms are microscopic shell fish that live in the upper layers of salt
water.  If they live in fresh water, I am not aware of it.  When they
die, their skeleton sinks to the bottom.  The DE that we are using is
the product of millions of years of diatom skeletons.

What makes it work is the sharp edges of these microscopic shells.  When
the larvae touches the DE, it nicks the larvae casing, and the larvae
dehydrates and dies.

It works on fleas, flies, and internal parasites. The internal organs
of the ingesting animal are not harmed unless they breath a large amount
of it.

That might cause lung problems since the lungs are such a sensitive
tissue but other internal organs are essentially immune to it.  When
you look at and feel DE you can understand why.  It looks like
off-white flour and has about the same consistency, but under a
powerful microscope, it is some nasty looking stuff with spikes and
razor sharp edges everywhere.

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Bill Spainhoward provides some results of his own studies concerning
the use of D.E. to combat parasites.

Below is a report on Diatomaceous Earth (DE) that I have written as
a service to my readers and is a result of my studies concerning
Diatomaceous Earth (DE).

I have no permission from the FDA or the USDA to make any claims
concerning Diatomaceous Earth (DE). These claims are from the my
searches of the internet and from literature I have in my possession.

I am using Diatomaceous Earth (DE) and I have seen good results but
I haven't used it long enough to prove all of these claims
and I can't guarantee you will share the same results. I do have the
CFR numbers showing FDA and USDA approval for using Diatomaceous
Earth (DE) as a feed additive.

I have been studying feeds and feeding for some time now and, about 6
months ago, I started learning all I could about diatomaceous earth. This
is a natural pesticide and has no ill effects when used with animals.

Be sure to get the food grade diatomaceous earth because it has been
approved by the FDA and USDA. (The Swimming Pool grade and filter grade
have not been approved as a feed additive and it may be harmful to use
them and they will not accomplish the desired results).

This will kill all internal and external parasites, aid in feed
conversion, control flies by killing the larvae in manure, control odour,
and promote better health and egg laying.

This will also kill other insects in your garden, orchard, home, and lawn.
It is great for controlling ants. This kills insects and parasites by
cutting their exoskeleton and they dehydrate. It contains no poisons.

Everyone told me that I should worm my birds every spring so I went and
bought 25 pounds of Ivomec (the type you mix in the feed) about two months
ago. I didn't use this because I had been reading about DE and wanted
to see if it worked. I was going to get 50 pounds and try it.

That idea changed to 14000 pounds and a dealership. I still have the
ivomec and will never use it. (Terrible huh) I don't believe in treating
a disease without proof that the disease exists. My birds look great,
grow great, lay great, and hatch great. I have never had any problems at
all but I was about to break my rule and feed them ivomec.

I am really glad I waited. I do believe in giving them the best care
possible and the diatomaceous earth will control both internal and
external parasites, flies and odours. It is also 100 percent natural
with no withdrawal prior to slaughter and no side effects so I will use
it from now on. Also, and this is very important, the parasites can not
develop an immunity to it.

Below is a note I wrote when I first started using Diatomaceous
Earth:

I just mixed 20 pounds of diatomaceous earth with 1000 pounds of
feed and used the other 30 pounds in 7 pens for my ostriches to dust
themselves with. It is unbelievable how quick the birds started
creating a dust cloud.

It is also unbelievable how far 30 pounds of diatomaceous earth will go.
Anyone want to buy any white ostriches? I have been wanting to buy some
but now I don't have to. I know adult birds know how to dust themselves
and they love fine sand for this but I wouldn't have thought they would
know what I put this in their pens for.

I, also, would not have thought 2 week old ostriches were smart enough to
immediately start dusting. They sit just like the older birds and rake
their neck through the DE and throw it up onto their backs. You have
to see them laying in the center of the diatomaceous earth and their
little wings really going. Anyone who raises ratites has to try this
at least once. If there was no health benefits for using DE, it would be
worth the cost of one bag just to watch them.

I have a number of test results done by veterinarians. To save space I
I can send them to you privately by email:-
spainhoward@hcc-uky.campus.mci.net

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Ostriches On Line would like to thank both Ron Prewitt and Bill
Spainhoward for these articles.

To contact Ron Prewitt send an email to
rdprew@totalaccess.net

To contact Bill Spainhoward send an email to
spainhoward@hcc-uky.campus.mci.net

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Animal Protein Products In Ratite Feeds -- Part Four

Continuing our ongoing discussion about Animal Protein, Daryl
Holle looks at the benefits of Animal Protein in the feed we provide
to our Ostriches and Ratites.

Nutritionally speaking, are Animal Protein Products a "good" source of
protein for Ratites?

Some nutritionist will say yes to that question, but I will say a
definite "NO".  Animal Protein Products are usually always high in
protein and therefore can be an economical source of protein.  However,
much of the protein contained in them is in the form of undegradeable
protein -- more commonly known as "Bypass" protein.  Cattle can use a
significant amount of Bypass protein because of their long digestive
tract (48-72 hours) and the rumen fermentation gut design which allows
Bypass protein enough time and activity to be broken down into usable
protein.  The ratites do NOT have a digestive tract this long with rate
of food passage through the gut being 24-36 hours for Ostrich and 6-8
hours for Emu.  The Ostrich does not have a rumen fermentation system,
although part of its gut does some digestive fermentation.  The Emu does
not have much food fermentation ability as the feed passes through the
system in a short period of time.

It has been my experience that the shorter the length of elapsed time
from when food goes in the mouth to when it goes out-on-the-ground, the
less Bypass protein is going to be utilised.  If this statement is true,
then cattle can use a good amount of Bypass protein coming from Animal
Protein Products, Ostrich use very little Bypass protein, and Emu use
hardly any Bypass protein at all.  Let's take a look at how Animal
Protein Products and Grain or Seed Protein Products compare in Bypass
protein amounts:

ANIMAL PROTEIN PRODUCTS

ITEM			DIGESTIBLE PROTEIN	BYPASS PROTEIN
Blood Meal             18%               82%
Meat Meal              28%               72%
Fish Meal              35%               65%
Meat/Bone Meal         48%               52%

GRAIN/SEED PROTEIN PRODUCTS

Soya Bean Meal           68%               32%
Sunflower Meal         62%               38%
Peanut Meal            72%               28%
Wheat Midds            78%               22%

You can clearly see on the above tables that Grain/Seed Protein Products
carry with them a high amount of digestible protein while Animal Protein
Products carry very low amounts of digestible protein.  An example of
what this causes might be using Blood Meal in Emu feed.  Since Blood Meal
is 82% Bypass protein, the majority of protein coming from Blood Meal
will go out-on-the-ground if used in feed for Emu as it cannot utilize
much Bypass protein.  In this example, the feed tag may be guaranteed as
18% Emu Grower feed, but if a considerable amount of that 18% protein is
coming from Blood Meal, the Emu cannot utilize it as an 18% protein feed.

Keep in mind the most important factor about ratite feed -- In order for
feed to be a productive feed, the bird has to be able to utilize the
nutrients it contains regardless of what the tag on the bag guarantees!
The feed may contain the necessary nutrients and can be verified by lab
test, but if the nutrients are not being utilized, the resulting bird
performance will indicate a nutrient deficiency.

Are there ANY ratite feeds made WITHOUT Animal Protein Products?

Unfortunately, the answer is "not very many"!  I have reviewed hundreds
of ratite feed tags over the last 7 years and have only found 3 brands of
feed that do NOT contain Animal Protein Products or fish meal, meat and
bone meal, meat meal, blood meal, and so on.  Two of those three brands
are Blue Mountain Ostrich Feed and GoldRush Ratite Feeds which are both
made by Blue Mountain Feeds and developed by me.  I am sure there may be
a few more companies out there whose tags I have not seen and hopefully
some of them have chosen NOT to add Animal Protein Products to their
brand of feed.  However, from what I have seen, over 98% of the feed
companies ARE using some amount of Animal Protein Products in ratite
feeds.

I encourage you to work with your feed company to change this scenario.
This ratite industry has the best quality end-products to come along in a
very long time.  Since it is a proven fact that what goes in the bird's
mouth affects the quality and taste of its meat, why not feed our birds a
diet containing wholesome ingredients and help make the end-product the
healthiest product of high quality and good taste as it was NATURALLY
meant to be!

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This ends the four-part series on Animal Protein Products in ratite
feeds and Ostriches On Line would like to thank Daryl for this article.

Daryl Holle is a Ratite nutrition consultant for Blue Mountain Feeds, Inc.
and you can contact him by email at
ostfeed@rmi.net or tel/fax at +1 800 478 7343

Daryl has written an excellent Ratite Feed Book which is available for
purchase from our internet site at

http://www.ostrichesonline.com/reference/ratitefeedbook.html

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Some quick Ostrich facts ....... for those who are new to the industry

1. The Ostrich is a member of the ratite family of birds.

2. Ostrich meat is a red meat and is very low in cholesterol, calories
and is almost fat free. Ostrich meat resembles Beef in its appearance
and is cooked almost the same way. Ostrich meat tastes just
like ..... well it tastes just like Ostrich meat.

3. Ostriches are not an endangered species - there are at least 1.5
million worldwide.

4. Ostriches have the best feed to weight ratio gain of any land animal in
the world. They are successfully farmed in at least 50 countries - from the
coldest climates of Alaska to the equatorial areas of central Africa.

5. Ostriches produce the strongest commercially available leather in the
world and some of the most beautiful feathers.

6. The Ostrich is one of the oldest living species at 120 million years
and when fully grown they have one of the most advanced immune
systems known to mankind.

7. Ostriches are the second fastest animal in the world and can run at 40
miles per hour (64 km. per hour). They can maintain this speed for at
least 30 minutes.

8. Ostriches do not bury their head in the sand.

9. Ostrich farming is one of the most open, free range farming
alternatives available anywhere in the world today - on average a trio of
Ostriches require about two thirds of an acre (0.25 hectares) to
breed and run around in.

Thousands more facts, figures, useful and useless bits of information are
available on our Internet site together with the option to purchase
every conceivable Ostrich product you can imagine

http://www.ostrichesonline.com
will get you straight there!

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2 delicious Ostrich meat recipes

Kim's "Now Famous" Meat Ball Hors-d'oeuvres

1 pound ground Ostrich meat
1/3rd cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
12 ounces of grape jelly/jam
12 ounces of chili sauce (strength to taste)

Prep:
Mix the meat, bread crumbs, eggs and spices. Shape into 1" balls.
Brown the meat balls in a non stick pan. Remove the meat balls from the
pan and drain any excess fat. Heat chili sauce and jelly/jam in the
pan, stirring until melted and consistent. Add meatballs; stir until
coated. Simmer uncovered for up to 30 minutes.

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Ostrich Shish-Kebabs - Honey Glazed

3 pounds Ostrich fillet - cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Honey

Marinade:
1/4 bottle of red wine
1 cup of olive oil
1 onion thinly sliced
1 teaspoon of thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon parsley
1 - 2 teaspoon Tabasco
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon white pepper
3 - 4 bay leaves
4 - 5 crushed garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce

Vegetables:
Tomatoes
Onions
Green peppers
Other vegetables to taste as per your choice

Prep:
Mix all marinade ingredients - place in a large container and add the
cubed meat. Marinade in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Skewer the meat alternating with a piece of each vegetable. Place the
skewers over a large pan and baste with the honey allowing excess to
run off. Cook over a medium barbecue fire, turning once. Total cooking
time is about 10 minutes.

Serves 6

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Ostriches On Line supply freshly frozen Ostrich meat into dozens of
countries worldwide. Our processing facilities are authorised and
inspected by the USDA, Ag Canada, Brazil Agriculture, the EU, MAFF UK
and many others. We can also supply Halal approved Ostrich meat and
quite probably Ostrich meat for virtually any country in any
quantity. Order your Ostrich Meat requirements today directly from our
Internet site

http://www.ostrichesonline.com/meat/meatindex.html

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And the winner is ....................

For our FREE competition for June and July we are delighted to
announce that Terri Blankenship, from Bakersfield in California
won the FREE prize.

You may review Terri's winning entry on our Internet site and we will
be sending Terri her prize early next week. Congratulations to Terri
from all of us here at Ostriches On Line.

And now ..... enter our new competition with the opportunity of winning

A Free Reference Book or Video

In our ongoing efforts to bring you the very best on the Internet we
are delighted to introduce a NEW FREE Competition and for the months of
August and September we are giving away either

The Ostrich Farming Book - full review at
http://www.ostrichesonline.com/reference/ofmbook.html

or the Ratite Encyclopaedia - full review at
http://www.ostrichesonline.com/reference/ratiteencyclopaedia.html

or our Farming Video - full review at
http://www.ostrichesonline.com/reference/korvideo.html

or the superb Ostrich Recipe Book "Cooking Ostriches with Confidence"
http://www.ostrichesonline.com/reference/recipebook.html

The new FREE Competition entry form is located at

http://www.ostrichesonline.com/general/freecompetition.html

Enter now ...... everyone is invited and the Aug./Sep. winner will be
announced in the October newsletter.

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In future issues

Our dealer and wholesale program are now finalised. We will be sending
out a wholesale program for you to profit from the world's best selling
Ostrich Management Book ...... together with information on a new
incubation system and some great Ostrich handing equipment.

We will also be announcing the availability of Probiotics/Microbials,
together with detailed fact sheets covering these superb products and
why every Ratite farmer should be feeding their chicks and birds these
wonderful ingredients.

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Unsubscribing

Contact us if you would prefer not to receive any more of our
superb newsletters - our distribution list is extensive ..... and all
email addresses are both confidential and exclusive ..... there are no
duplicates ..... so if you get 2 or more emails from us then you have
2 or more email addresses subscribed. To remove yourself and/or any
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1. Look at the "To:" box above where you received this
newsletter ..... this is the email address you need to unsubscribe.
2. Start your email program
3. In the new email "To:" box enter    unsubscribe@ostrich.com
4. In the "Subject:" box enter      unsubscribe
5. In the message bit write the email address that appears in the
original "To:" box referred to in (1) above.
6. Send it off
7. If you receive further emails from us then we did not receive the
email address that is subscribed and you will need to repeat the whole
process.
8. Er ......... that's it

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Don't just do something, sit there

We can't be everywhere - although we would like to be, and it would
be great to hear some news and views from your part of the world. It
doesn't take much, and you don't have to send something every week - just
an article or item that is topical and informative, a chance to get your
name and company printed (for free) and a view from your part of the
world. This newsletter now goes out to 112 countries on every
continent and there is no deadline - just send us an email with your
contribution that you want to include and we will take care of the
rest.

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This material is copyrighted Ostriches On Line 23 August 1997

No part may be reproduced, copied or otherwise used without the
express written permission of Ostriches On Line

All views and opinions in this newsletter are ours unless it
was a contributed article.

Ostriches On Line are responsible for all material contained herein.

You can receive this newsletter by First Class Airmail. To subscribe
to the printed version please visit our Internet site at

http://www.ostrichesonline.com/general/newsletter.html

Steve Warrington
================
Ostriches On Line - The World's Largest International Ostrich Company
119 N 10th Ave     Melrose Park    IL   USA     60160           E&OE
Tel +1 708 345 7989   Fax +1 708 345 8584
Member: BDOA, AOA, BBB of Greater Chicago   Melrose Park C of C
The Ostriches On Line newsletter has over 10,500 subscribers - join now
http://www.ostrichesonline.com        steve@ostrich.com