What are Ratites?
Ratites (“RAT-tights”) are a family of flightless birds with small wings and flat breastbones. Ostrich, emu (“E-mew”) and rhea (“REE-ah”) are members of this family. Ostrich is native to Africa; emu, to Australia; and rhea, to South America — particularly the grasslands of Argentina. When fully grown, ostriches — the largest birds in the world — stand about seven to eight feet tall and can weigh 300 to 400 pounds; emu are about six feet tall and weigh 125 to 140 pounds. Adult rheas are about five feet tall and weigh 60 to 100 pounds. The birds are 95 percent usable as meat, feathers, oil and leather. How are Ratites Raised? Newly hatched chicks usually weigh about two pounds and are about 10 inches tall. Young ratites must be sheltered in a warm place for their first weeks of life. Adolescent and adult birds are allowed to roam freely in fenced pastures or pens. Ratites need daily exercise to avoid leg and digestive problems. The closely woven wire fences must be 6 to 8 feet high becau
Ratites are a family of flightless birds with small wings and flat breastbones. Ostrich, emu and rhea are members of this family. Ostrich is native to Africa; emu, to Australia; and rhea, to South America — particularly the grasslands of Argentina. When fully grown, ostriches — the largest birds in the world — stand about seven to eight-feet tall and can weigh 300 to 400 pounds; emu are about six feet tall and weigh 125 to 140 pounds. Adult rheas are about five feet tall and weigh 60 to 100 pounds. The birds are 95-percent usable as meat, feathers, oil and leather.
Ratites (“RAT-tights”) are a family of flightless birds with small wings and flat breastbones. Ostrich, emu (“E-mew”) and rhea (“REE-ah”) are members of this family. Ostrich is native to Africa; emu, to Australia; and rhea, to South America — particularly the grasslands of Argentina. When fully grown, ostriches — the largest birds in the world — stand about seven to eight-feet tall and can weigh 300 to 400 pounds; emu are about six feet tall and weigh 125 to 140 pounds. Adult rheas are about five feet tall and weigh 60 to 100 pounds. The birds are 95 percent usable as meat, feathers, oil and leather.
Ratites (“RAT-tights”) are a family of flightless birds with small wings and flat breastbones. Ostrich, emu (“E-mew”) and rhea (“REE-ah”) are members of this family. Ostrich is native to Africa; emu, to Australia; and rhea, to South America — particularly the grasslands of Argentina. When fully grown, ostriches — the largest birds in the world — stand about seven to eight-feet tall and can weigh 300 to 400 pounds; emu are about six feet tall and weigh 125 to 140 pounds. Adult rheas are about five feet tall and weigh 60 to 100 pounds. The birds are 95 percent usable as meat, feathers, oil and leather. How Much Ratite is Raised? Ostrich was the first ratite to be raised in the U.S. There are now about 1,000 ostrich growers in the U.S. raising about 100,000 birds. Emu are now raised in at least 43 states by about 10,000 families (3,000 are in Texas). The emu population is about a million. Rheas are the newest U.S. farm-raised ratite, but at over 15,000 birds, are the largest population
Ratites are an unusual group of flightless birds of Gondwanan distribution (South America, southern Africa, and Australia). Being named for the Greek word for raft (ratis), ratites have no keel on their sternum, meaning that they have no place to attach wing muscles. For this reason, they couldn’t fly even if they had the wings for it. Ratites evolved sometime between 130 and 80 million years ago, though the oldest ratite fossil known is 60 million years old. Scientists know that they evolved earlier than 60 million years ago because ratites are found on continents that had become widely separated by then, and they could not have spread from continent to continent by swimming across the ocean. As the group that includes the ostrich, rhea, cassowary, the ratites are quite diverse, but are known for including the largest living bird, the African Ostrich, which can be 3 meters (10 ft) tall, weigh 159 kg (360 lb), and can outrun a horse (46 mph, 74 km/h) . The African Ostrich also produces
