An emu chick which is having to be reared by keepers at Longleat after being rejected by its parents has made an unusual friendship with a flock of farmyard chickens.

The two-month old chick, who keepers have named Bueno, is the first to have been successfully reared at the Wiltshire safari park.

Keepers initially cared for the youngster at home, however it has now been returned to Longleat’s Family Farmyard area where it has struck up the unlikely alliance with the resident chickens.

“We decided to rear Bueno ourselves as there were signs first time mum and dad Bounty and Biscuit were not the most attentive of parents,” said keeper Gemma Short.

“As this was the first chick which had been reared here we wanted to give it as much of a chance of reaching adulthood as possible.

“Since returning to Longleat, it has settled in really well and, in addition to the chickens, it is also bonding with its adopted auntie Bourbon, an adult female emu,” she added.

If all goes well the plan is to reintroduce Bueno back to its parents once it has grown large enough to fend for itself.

Emus are among the largest birds in the world, growing in excess of two metres tall. They're found primarily in Australia, but also in New Guinea, Indonesia, Solomon Islands, and the Philippines and are part of the ratite family, along with rheas and ostriches.

Mating pairs stay together for up to five months, after which females lay large, emerald-green eggs in expansive ground nests. The males incubate the eggs for about seven weeks without drinking, feeding or leaving the nest.

Emu eggs, which are emerald green in colour, have to be incredibly tough to survive in their native Australia. The emu chick will start by pecking a hole in the egg before expanding his body to break the hard, brittle shell.

When the chicks are fully grown they can reach land speeds of up to 50 kilometres per hour making them one of the fastest land birds alongside their ostrich cousins.

Folly Farm Adventure Park & Zoo in Wales has three new Emu chicks to chirp about! Found all over Australia these large flightless birds are instantly recognizable due to their sheer size and their incredible speed. They have been ‘clocked’ at 31mph and can run great distances too, if needs be. Once hunted in the wild for their skin, feathers, meat and oil, these products are now obtained through emu farms. Although not listed as threatened by the IUCN, in Australia’s northern territories they are listed as vulnerable.

On March 14^th and 15^th, following an eight-week incubation, two Emu chicks emerged from their eggs at Brevard Zoo. The pair is the first shared offspring of six-year-old female, Lafawnduh, and 23-year-old male, Napoleon.

“Once the female lays the eggs, she skips town and the male takes over,” said Michelle Smurl, director of animal programs at the Zoo. “Napoleon did a great job of sitting on the eggs, but he wasn’t too interested in the chicks once they hatched.”

Animal care staff made the decision to hand-rear the chicks, which are thriving. A third chick began to hatch, but did not make it out of the egg. Two remaining eggs were removed from the nest and placed in an incubator.

“The chicks are living behind the scenes for the time being, but they’ll probably be out for guests to see in the next few weeks,” added Smurl. “We’re focused on providing the chicks and unhatched eggs with the best possible care right now.”

Photo Credits: Brevard Zoo

The Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the second-largest living bird by height, after its ratite relative, the Ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird.

Emu chicks weigh less than a pound upon hatching, but can exceed 100 pounds as adults. A national icon in its native Australia, the Emu is renowned for its stature, striking blue skin, and “goofy” demeanor. Its diet consists primarily of grasses and insects.

On an international level, the Emu is currently classified as “Least Concern” by the IUCN. However, the New South Wales Government classifies the population of the New South Wales North Coast Bioregion and Port Stephens as “Endangered”.

Although the population of Emus on mainland Australia is thought to be higher now, some local populations are at risk of extinction. The threats faced include: the clearance and fragmentation of areas of suitable habitat, deliberate slaughter, collisions with vehicles, and predation of the eggs and young.

Hellabrunn Zoo Munich currently has five new Emu chicks! The chicks hatched between May 8^th and May 14^th, and the new mob is currently under the protective care of their ten-year-old father “Kanoro”.

Photo Credits: Marc Mueller

The Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the second-largest living bird by height, after the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius.

Emus are soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds with long necks and legs, and can reach up to 1.9 metres (6.2 ft) in height. Emus can travel great distances and sprint at 50 km/h (31 mph). They forage for a variety of plants and insects, but have been known to go weeks without eating. They drink infrequently, but take in large amounts of water when opportunity arises.

Breeding takes place in May and June, and fighting among females for a mate is common. Females can mate several times and lay several clutches of eggs in one season.

The male does the incubation; during this process he hardly eats or drinks and loses a significant amount of weight. Incubation takes 56 days, and the male stops incubating the eggs shortly before they hatch. The temperature of the nest rises slightly during the eight-week period. Although the eggs are laid sequentially, they tend to hatch within two days of one another, as the eggs that were laid later experienced higher temperatures and developed more rapidly. During the process, the precocial Emu chicks need to develop a capacity for thermoregulation. During incubation, the embryos are kept at a constant temperature but the chicks will need to be able to cope with varying external temperatures by the time they hatch.

Newly hatched chicks are active and can leave the nest within a few days of hatching. They stand about 12 cm (5 in) tall at first, weigh 0.5 kg (17.6 oz), and have distinctive brown and cream stripes for camouflage, which fade after three months or so. The male guards the growing chicks for up to seven months, teaching them how to find food.

Chicks grow very quickly and are fully-grown in five to six months; they may remain with their family group for another six months or so before they split up to breed in their second season.

During their early life, their father, who adopts a belligerent stance towards other Emus, including the mother, defends the young Emus. He does this by ruffling his feathers, emitting sharp grunts, and kicking his legs to drive off other animals. He can also bend his knees to crouch over smaller chicks to protect them. At night, he envelops his young with his feathers. As the young Emus cannot travel far, the parents must choose an area with plentiful food in which to breed.

In captivity, Emus can live for upwards of ten years.

In the 1930s, Emu killings in Western Australia peaked at 57,000, due to rampant crop damage. In the 1960s, bounties were still being paid in Western Australia for killing Emus. Since then, wild Emus have been granted formal protection under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Their occurrence range is between 4,240,000 and 6,730,000 km2 (1,640,000–2,600,000 sq mi), and a 1992 census suggested that their total population was between 630,000 and 725,000. The bird is now classified as “Least Concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Three little Emu chicks recently hatched at the Berlin Zoo. Emu pairs breed from October to April, usually producing one emerald green egg every three days which hatches in about 48 to 52 days. Chicks can walk within hours and run within days. And they grow rapidly, gaining their full height by one year of age.

An interesting fact: after the mother hen lays and incubates the egg, she has nothing more to do with raising her chicks. All of those duties are taken up by the father, seen here out walking with them. They are hardy birds, flightless and strong runners. In time, they will be able to reach ground speeds of up to 40 miles per hour in short bursts and covering about nine feet in stride. 

The Emu is native to Australia, and is the country's national bird. They are the second largest bird in the world, the first being the Ostrich. The adult Emu measure 5 to 6 feet tall and weighs between 90 to 120 pounds. They hatch at about 10 inches tall, sporting black and white stripes. By 3 months old, the chicks turn an almost solid black. Finally, by the time they reach adulthood, their feathers have changed to an elegant, downy mix of tan, brown, and black (some have a bluish neck).

Photo Credit: Berlin Zoo

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay welcomed two Emu chicks on February 5th and 6th. Emu belong in the Ratite Order a diverse group of flightless birds like Ostriches, Rheas, Cassowary and Kiwis.  Dark green in color, Emu eggs are roughly 5 inches long. Busch Gardens keepers were able to know when they were about to hatch by pressing their ears to the shell and listening for the baby emu tapping on the inside.

Photo credit: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Once the keepers realized the babies were soon to hatch, they moved them both to an incubator at the Animal Care Center.  Once hatched, baby Emu are about 5 inches tall and have a unique striping pattern -- in the wild, this camouflages them from predators.