Why The Difference??

Spring is coming and bookings are coming in.  Sometimes people wonder why it is cheaper to come to the farm than for us to bring fewer animals to them.  Let’s pretend you have booked us for a birthday party a mere 30 miles away.  We’ll bring 5-7 small animals for 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending on the interest of the participants.  Why does that make a difference?  Because when people get bored or distracted is when an accident might happen, so when interest is over, we pack up.

We put each animal into a crate or carrier.  Today we are bringing a bearded dragon in her plastic travel container, two parrots (which count as one animal since we use them to show why it is important to research parrots before you buy one) – each in his own acrylic travel carrier, a rabbit in his plastic travel carrier, a hedgehog in his bonding pouch, a short-tailed opossum his travel pouch,  a goose in her crate, a turkey in her crate, and our mini pig is in crate – that’s a bonus of an extra animal.  Besides the animals in their crates, we need water and water dishes or dispensers for each, a canopy for shade, a tarp, a barrier to keep people and animals separate except under supervision, a table if we bring the egg game and the eggs.  We need to bring antibacterial soap that can be used without water, and water for us (especially if it is hot).  Sometimes we need to provide benches, so we need to pack those.  We figure that it will take us an hour to 1-2 hours to get everyone and everything loaded and secured.

For most 30 mile treks, it takes 45 minutes to an hour one way.  We arrive, you pay us the balance (you’ve already paid a deposit to secure your date and time), and we unpack everyone.  We set up the canopy and the barriers, get the stand out for the parrots, put down the tarp for under the turkey and goose crates (they have wood chips in to absorb droppings, set up the canopy, if needed, and set up the egg game, if we bring it.  We figure that will take about 15 minutes.  So, before we’ve started, we’ve already put in 1.5-2 hours.

Then we do our favorite part – we present the animals and interact with the participants.  People ooh and aah when they touch the goose (she is very soft!).  They touch her feet and we talk about how they get feathers for featherbeds and pillows.  Participants ask questions about the hedgehog who may or may not be ‘soft’ as they touch him.  We talk about the difference in personalities in umbrella cockatoos and African grey parrots and everyone gets to see Asimov, the cockatoo, do some tricks, and then they get to pet him.  If people want a photo opp – it is often with Asimov.  And so on…. (most of the time 1 hour-1.5 hours).

Then, we pack up the truck, clean up the wood shavings that have fallen from the cages, put away the bird stand, the canopy, the barrier, the benches or table, etc.  We figure that takes 15 minutes and then we head home (45 minutes to 1 hour). 

Asimov, the umbrella cockatoo, being pet.

Once we are home we have to unpack everything and put the animals back into their habitats.  That takes about an hour.  So, at the end of the day, we’ve put in at least 5 hours to bring the entertainment to you and if you add large animals, it is at least 7 hours of work since we have to pack more, hook up a trailer, set-up a corral, take down the corral, clean up after larger animals (we put down a large tarp with the corral around it), etc.

If you come to the farm, we do have to set up our canopy (the county makes us take it down every day), so we have to set up benches and tables and gather the animals (7-10 animals big and small).  It takes us about 2 hours.  The presentation takes about 45 minutes-1.5 hours and then we have a hayride around the property if you’d like.  If you stay to have cake and party stuff, using our tables, we put animals away, so when you leave, all that is left is putting away benches and tables and taking down the canopy.  It takes us about an hour – so if you have partied for an hour, we have 4 hours invested and part of that was a break after putting away animals.  So, you can see why it is cheaper to come to the GEE Funny Farm!  Make an appointment today!!

Our canopy on the farm AND the screened tent for the birds and flying squirrel.  You can also see the edge of the corral where the larger animals are hanging out waiting to be presented.

Emu Essentials

So far this year we, at GEE Funny Farm have found seven emu eggs; one had cracked because it froze before we found it.  The others have been put into an incubator.  Temperature and humidity have to be monitored and the eggs need to be turned at least three times a day. 

Here the emu eggs are in our incubator.  You can see the heating element on top, the fan to circulate the air, the six eggs (the chalk mark is the date they were found), the container I add water to so the eggs don't dry out, and the thermometer/humidity monitor.

Emus are the largest bird native to Australia.  Males and females look alike but make very different sounds.  An adult emu can weigh between 90-150 pounds and stand between five and half feet to six feet tall.  They can run up to 45 miles per hour in short bursts, run in a zigzag pattern, and have a stride of up to nine feet!  And emus can swim!  Our emus like to lounge in a horse trough, kid's swimming pool, or mud (things we have available).  They will also come to be sprayed with the hose or play in the sprinkler.

Emu (I found it on the Internet) on the run!  Ours run, but I've never gotten such a good shot!

Our emu, Eunice, chasing the mini donkey -- or at least running in his direction!

  

Our emus play in a kid's pool.

Emus are ratites, related to ostriches (Africa), cassowaries (New Guinea and North-Eastern Australia), rheas (South America), and kiwis (New Zealand). The only bird larger than the emu is the ostrich. 
 

Ostrich -- notice it's big (relative to the emu) wings.

Eunice, our emu.

A cassowary -- beautiful colors, and the third largest bird.  Also known to be very territorial.

 

A rhea.  I guess it could be called the South American ostrich...

A brown kiwi.  You can only see kiwis in New Zealand since they are not allowed to be exported.

Ratite means 'flat breast-bone with no keel,' therefore these birds do not have any flesh in the breast area and this is one of the reasons that they cannot fly.  While ostriches have big wings, emu wings are only about eight inches long.  Also, ratite feathers are not aerodynamic and ratites have solid bones instead of the hollow bones that most birds have.

Here is a close up picture of an emu wing that I found on the Internet.  Eunice will let me show hers, so I need to get a picture of that!

 While ostriches have two toes, emus have three.  They can use their big strong feet for defense, but emus are usually calm and docile.

Emu feet.

 Interestingly, several sites say that emus mate and lay eggs in May and June -- if only that OUR experience!!  Other sites say that breeding and laying season starts as early as September and runs through March -- THAT is closer to our experience!  Our emu has laid eggs beginning in December, though this year it was almost the end of January before we found our first egg.  Emus can lay 20-50 eggs in a season.  Luckily ours has never laid more than about 15.  We usually find about 10-12 eggs through the season.  In the past, we tried different ways to save the eggs until it warmed up enough for the male to sit on the clutch (the group of eggs), but it is too long a wait in Wisconsin and none of the eggs have hatched, though our male has sat them diligently for about eight weeks, taking no food or water.  The male emu uses the body fat he has stored during the eight weeks and only drinks what he can reach (the sites say 'dew' but we try to keep water near him).  He only stands to turn the eggs and it is the male that raises the chicks once they hatch.

This gives you an idea of the sizes of ratite eggs, compared to a chicken egg.  Actually, the kiwi , which is small compared to other ratites, claims the 3rd largest egg, though in this picture it looks like the rhea's is larger.

 

A variety of emu eggs.  Ours are always the dark green color found in the upper left-hand side of this photo.  It would be fun to have this variety!

Emus are sometimes referred to as 'the most useable bird' because they are known for their unique oil (found in the pad on their back - that they use to regulate body temperature), their iron-packed meat (that tastes more like very lean beef than chicken), their fine leather, unusual feathers, their toenails, and their green eggs -- the last three items are used for decorative purposes.

Some products made from emu oil.

 

Emu meat.

Yep, a Harley Davidson cap made from emu leather!

An emu feather -- notice 2 feathers in one quill!

A fan made from emu feathers.

A beaded necklace with emu feather accents.

A necklace with an emu toenail accent.

An emu egg being etched.

A carved emu egg.

A painted emu egg with combed emu feathers.

Pendant lamps made from emu shells.

 The emu is curious and docile, as mentioned before.  Our emus have followed us around, taking our caps, our tools, my gloves and then running off a ways.  We can always retrieve the stolen items.

Eunice, our emu, checking our the new 'toy' for the goats.

Chicks are about ten inches tall at birth with black and white stripes on a brown background.  When they are about three months old, the chicks turn nearly black.  Then, as adults, their feathers change again into a tan, brown, and black mixture.  Chicks grow very quickly, up to two pounds a week, and are fully grown in twelve to fourteen months.  In the wild, they stay with their family group for about another six months before they split up to breed in their second season.

These chicks hatched about three weeks apart -- you can see the difference in size!

Here are the two chicks on their first day outside.  You can see that the larger one is close to three months.  The stripes are gone and the feathers are coming in black.

Emus are hardy and can survive in extreme temperatures, which is good thing in Wisconsin!  We like them very much, though our favorite is Eunice, our female who hasn't bonded with any male.  We loved having the experience of having chicks last year and hope that we end up with at least a couple this year!  We hope that you get the experience of seeing our emus and at least one chick.  They are wondrous birds!