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Ostrich Farm Layout
An ideal ostrich farming operation separates the breeding, the incubation and the growing of
the chicks into 3 separate farming locations - sometimes many miles apart.
If you are planning to breed ostriches and incubate, hatch and raise chicks all on one farm, particular attention must be made to a good layout.
Having multiple locations may not be practical or feasible for you, so we have provided some layout guidelines for an "all-in-one" farm as well as pen sizes, layout and requirements which are suitable for any size of ostrich farm.
Choose a farming location which is quiet and secluded. Although ostriches soon get used to noise and busy environments, breeding can be affected if there is too much distraction.
Bio-security and cleanliness throughout the farm is crucial and reasonable distances need to be maintained from various ostrich pens and different farming operations.
A good guideline, when moving around the farm, is to go from youngest (i.e. incubation room) to older (i.e. chicks) to oldest (i.e. breeders).
Do not make a habit of wandering around the farm and then entering the incubation room or the chick pen as this can lead to a bio-security problem.
Land and Service Requirements The amount of land required is dependant on the age and the quantity of ostriches you wish to raise.
You probably do not want to start even a small operation with less than 3 or 4 acres (1 - 2 hectares).
A constant supply of fresh, clean water is an absolute necessity as fully grown ostriches can drink up to 2 gallons (9 litres) of water per day.
Electric is required if you plan to incubate and hatch the eggs.
Gas or oil is a good alternative to provide heat to the livestock in colder, freezing weather.
Heating is required at night for newly hatched chicks if the temperature falls below 85 degrees F (24 degrees C).
In freezing winter weather, it is recommended that ostriches are provided a shelter or shed. Although ostriches are very hardy, an enclosed shelter or barn is ideal. Fresh water is essential and needs to be kept well above freezing point.
A landscape of gentle hills and slopes are fine for ostrich farming.
Steep slopes should be avoided as this can cause problems for the ostriches running around which in turn leads to leg injuries. Serious leg injuries are a death knell for an ostrich.
Breeding Pens A breeding pair or trio require a large size pen - the larger the better. Ostriches love space.
A good size breeding pen for a pair or trio of Ostriches is 100 yards (100 M) x 20 yards (20 M).
Free Roaming Ostriches - in Big Pens Ostriches like trees - so if you have some on the farm, incorporate one or two in each of your breeding pens.
DO NOT PUT CHICKS IN PENS WITH TREES!
Construction of your breeding pen is a matter of personal preference.
Strong wooden posts, about 10 feet (3 M) apart, with single strand wire is ideal. The wire should be about 18 inches (0.5 M) apart and the top wire should be about 6 ft (1.8 M) from the ground.
A sight line is recommended on the top wire. Use a brightly coloured hose pipe - thread the top wire through the hose pipe.
Corners should be either rounded or at a 45-degree angle to stop your livestock from getting trapped into a corner - especially important during mating season.
The lower 18 inches (0.5 M) of the fence should be chicken or chain link wire. This is used to keep predators out.
Alternative construction can include wooden corals or all chain link fencing or even some strong resin/plastic materials.
Never use barbed wire in ostrich pens.
Beware that ostriches run fast. If they run into the fence a stranded wire fence will help stop injuries as there is some "give" in the wire. A wooden corral type fence or other type of solid fence has no "give."
When preparing your ostrich farm, separate each breeding pen with a 10ft (3 M) alley way. This can be used as an extra pen for a sick bird and also allows tractor access to carry feed and water.
A shared common fence is not recommended for breeding birds.
Include a suitable size shelter, wind break or shed in each pen. Although not used much, if it gets hot, the birds will seek shelter to get out of the sun.
A Sun Shelter for Ostriches The pen should have an area about 25 ft x 25 ft (6 M x 6 M) by 6 inches (15 cm) deep of clean sand for the birds to roll in.
Open type feeders are recommended. Size is dependant on feed type and the number of ostriches being farmed, however, no Ostrich should be fighting to get to the feeder so ensure an adequate size.
When mounting the feeders, take into account the general wind direction and the intensity of the sun.
For best results, all breeding ostriches should be provided with plenty of fresh water and fed a diet of Blue Mountain, The World's Finest Ostrich Feeds.
Ostriches drink by scooping water with their beak. Therefore, they need a depth of water sufficient to immerse their beak and a long enough distance to move across to adequately drink.
Water troughs should be mounted at the bird's chest height.
Ostrich Chick Pens An ideal chick pen consists of a green house type structure with open access to a chick run/pen.
Chicks should be encouraged to go outside at the earliest opportunity, however, they should be kept out of any rain.
At night and in cooler temperatures during the day, a heat lamp with thermostat should be provided.
When the chicks feel cold, they will run under the heat lamp to warm up.
Chick Green House with Heat Lamps Inside Chick runs/pens should be spotlessly clean of any foreign objects. Chicks will eat anything and will die if they pick up indigestible objects.
Chick runs/pens can be made from concrete/dry deck or grass. There are advantages and disadvantages to both surfaces.
Concrete is easy to sterilise and clean but gets very hot in the summer so good shelters are required. A good healthy chick will not experience leg problems on concrete, however, regular attention and observation is required.
Grass of course is natural and does not over heat in the summer. It is softer "underfoot" and is a more natural substrate. The disadvantages of grass is harmful bacteria in the pens which should be removed prior to each new chick batch.
Whichever one you choose, it is far more important to get the chicks to drink and eat as soon as possible and to get them outside at the earliest opportunity.
Very Young Chicks in Grass Pens For best results, all Ostrich chicks should be provided with plenty of fresh water and fed on a diet of Blue Mountain, The World's Finest Ostrich Feeds from the earliest opportunity.
It is never too early to start feeding chicks, however, some chicks do not start eating until they are a few days old - this is OK.
Rotation of chick pens is recommended to ensure a clean and sanitary environment.
Young Juveniles Between 6 weeks and 3 months of age, birds should be moved into larger pens.
These pens do not need such rigid fencing, however, construction should be adequate to keep any predators out.
A good pen size for 6 week - 3 month old chicks is 30 yards (30 M) x 15 yards (15 M).
Good sun shelters are required and if the weather is cold, access to a heated area is necessary.
For best results, all ostrich chicks should be provided with plenty of fresh water and fed on a diet of Blue Mountain, The World's Finest Ostrich Feeds.
Juveniles Birds of 3 months and over should be moved into larger pens.
Construction for a juvenile pen is the same as a breeder pen. The size for a Juvenile pen can be the same as a Breeder Pen.
It is not a problem to put dozens of juvenile birds into a good size juvenile pen.
Juvenile pens can be of any type of substrate and ground cover such as grass is fine.
For best results, all ostriches should be provided with plenty of fresh water and fed on a diet of Blue Mountain, The World's Finest Ostrich Feeds.
Incubation Facilities Incubation facilities should be kept well away from breeding and grow-out pens.
An existing barn or farm building, incorporating a separate incubation building is ideal.
Bio-security is a concern and the incubation room should be off limits to everyone except the farm/incubation manager.
Good ventilation, air changes and air temperature are all factors which affect the hatching rate of ostrich eggs.
Incubation Room inside an existing Farm Building Notice the air intake and exhaust in the above photograph.
If you are planning to breed ostriches and incubate, hatch and raise chicks all on one farm, particular attention must be made to a good layout.
Having multiple locations may not be practical or feasible for you, so we have provided some layout guidelines for an "all-in-one" farm as well as pen sizes, layout and requirements which are suitable for any size of ostrich farm.
Choose a farming location which is quiet and secluded. Although ostriches soon get used to noise and busy environments, breeding can be affected if there is too much distraction.
Bio-security and cleanliness throughout the farm is crucial and reasonable distances need to be maintained from various ostrich pens and different farming operations.
A good guideline, when moving around the farm, is to go from youngest (i.e. incubation room) to older (i.e. chicks) to oldest (i.e. breeders).
Do not make a habit of wandering around the farm and then entering the incubation room or the chick pen as this can lead to a bio-security problem.
Land and Service Requirements The amount of land required is dependant on the age and the quantity of ostriches you wish to raise.
You probably do not want to start even a small operation with less than 3 or 4 acres (1 - 2 hectares).
A constant supply of fresh, clean water is an absolute necessity as fully grown ostriches can drink up to 2 gallons (9 litres) of water per day.
Electric is required if you plan to incubate and hatch the eggs.
Gas or oil is a good alternative to provide heat to the livestock in colder, freezing weather.
Heating is required at night for newly hatched chicks if the temperature falls below 85 degrees F (24 degrees C).
In freezing winter weather, it is recommended that ostriches are provided a shelter or shed. Although ostriches are very hardy, an enclosed shelter or barn is ideal. Fresh water is essential and needs to be kept well above freezing point.
A landscape of gentle hills and slopes are fine for ostrich farming.
Steep slopes should be avoided as this can cause problems for the ostriches running around which in turn leads to leg injuries. Serious leg injuries are a death knell for an ostrich.
Breeding Pens A breeding pair or trio require a large size pen - the larger the better. Ostriches love space.
A good size breeding pen for a pair or trio of Ostriches is 100 yards (100 M) x 20 yards (20 M).
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|
Free Roaming Ostriches - in Big Pens Ostriches like trees - so if you have some on the farm, incorporate one or two in each of your breeding pens.
DO NOT PUT CHICKS IN PENS WITH TREES!
Construction of your breeding pen is a matter of personal preference.
Strong wooden posts, about 10 feet (3 M) apart, with single strand wire is ideal. The wire should be about 18 inches (0.5 M) apart and the top wire should be about 6 ft (1.8 M) from the ground.
A sight line is recommended on the top wire. Use a brightly coloured hose pipe - thread the top wire through the hose pipe.
Corners should be either rounded or at a 45-degree angle to stop your livestock from getting trapped into a corner - especially important during mating season.
The lower 18 inches (0.5 M) of the fence should be chicken or chain link wire. This is used to keep predators out.
Alternative construction can include wooden corals or all chain link fencing or even some strong resin/plastic materials.
Never use barbed wire in ostrich pens.
Beware that ostriches run fast. If they run into the fence a stranded wire fence will help stop injuries as there is some "give" in the wire. A wooden corral type fence or other type of solid fence has no "give."
When preparing your ostrich farm, separate each breeding pen with a 10ft (3 M) alley way. This can be used as an extra pen for a sick bird and also allows tractor access to carry feed and water.
A shared common fence is not recommended for breeding birds.
Include a suitable size shelter, wind break or shed in each pen. Although not used much, if it gets hot, the birds will seek shelter to get out of the sun.
A Sun Shelter for Ostriches The pen should have an area about 25 ft x 25 ft (6 M x 6 M) by 6 inches (15 cm) deep of clean sand for the birds to roll in.
Open type feeders are recommended. Size is dependant on feed type and the number of ostriches being farmed, however, no Ostrich should be fighting to get to the feeder so ensure an adequate size.
When mounting the feeders, take into account the general wind direction and the intensity of the sun.
For best results, all breeding ostriches should be provided with plenty of fresh water and fed a diet of Blue Mountain, The World's Finest Ostrich Feeds.
Ostriches drink by scooping water with their beak. Therefore, they need a depth of water sufficient to immerse their beak and a long enough distance to move across to adequately drink.
Water troughs should be mounted at the bird's chest height.
Ostrich Chick Pens An ideal chick pen consists of a green house type structure with open access to a chick run/pen.
Chicks should be encouraged to go outside at the earliest opportunity, however, they should be kept out of any rain.
At night and in cooler temperatures during the day, a heat lamp with thermostat should be provided.
When the chicks feel cold, they will run under the heat lamp to warm up.
|
|
Chick Green House with Heat Lamps Inside Chick runs/pens should be spotlessly clean of any foreign objects. Chicks will eat anything and will die if they pick up indigestible objects.
Chick runs/pens can be made from concrete/dry deck or grass. There are advantages and disadvantages to both surfaces.
Concrete is easy to sterilise and clean but gets very hot in the summer so good shelters are required. A good healthy chick will not experience leg problems on concrete, however, regular attention and observation is required.
Grass of course is natural and does not over heat in the summer. It is softer "underfoot" and is a more natural substrate. The disadvantages of grass is harmful bacteria in the pens which should be removed prior to each new chick batch.
Whichever one you choose, it is far more important to get the chicks to drink and eat as soon as possible and to get them outside at the earliest opportunity.
|
|
Very Young Chicks in Grass Pens For best results, all Ostrich chicks should be provided with plenty of fresh water and fed on a diet of Blue Mountain, The World's Finest Ostrich Feeds from the earliest opportunity.
It is never too early to start feeding chicks, however, some chicks do not start eating until they are a few days old - this is OK.
Rotation of chick pens is recommended to ensure a clean and sanitary environment.
Young Juveniles Between 6 weeks and 3 months of age, birds should be moved into larger pens.
These pens do not need such rigid fencing, however, construction should be adequate to keep any predators out.
A good pen size for 6 week - 3 month old chicks is 30 yards (30 M) x 15 yards (15 M).
Good sun shelters are required and if the weather is cold, access to a heated area is necessary.
For best results, all ostrich chicks should be provided with plenty of fresh water and fed on a diet of Blue Mountain, The World's Finest Ostrich Feeds.
Juveniles Birds of 3 months and over should be moved into larger pens.
Construction for a juvenile pen is the same as a breeder pen. The size for a Juvenile pen can be the same as a Breeder Pen.
It is not a problem to put dozens of juvenile birds into a good size juvenile pen.
Juvenile pens can be of any type of substrate and ground cover such as grass is fine.
For best results, all ostriches should be provided with plenty of fresh water and fed on a diet of Blue Mountain, The World's Finest Ostrich Feeds.
Incubation Facilities Incubation facilities should be kept well away from breeding and grow-out pens.
An existing barn or farm building, incorporating a separate incubation building is ideal.
Bio-security is a concern and the incubation room should be off limits to everyone except the farm/incubation manager.
Good ventilation, air changes and air temperature are all factors which affect the hatching rate of ostrich eggs.
Incubation Room inside an existing Farm Building Notice the air intake and exhaust in the above photograph.