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I kept 7 babies in a 5x5ft childplay pen until they were old enough to be moved outside at around a month old. The larger pen/shed is around 16x8x12ft, and will accommodate them until they're big enough to roam free. I've recently fenced off a temporary outdoor area, about 10x20ft, that they can...

Is she holding her head between her legs? Swinging her head around? These are symptoms of wry neck, a deficiency in vitamin E. I've treated this (also a chick around that age) with vitamin E oil which can be picked up at a CVS. It took a week for the symptoms to go away with regular doses of E...

It really depends on the temperament of the birds and what the hormones do to them as they age. It's usually female birds that don't get along very well with each other, but I have males who will go after other males/females. Even if they're best friends growing up, the dynamics completely...

I'll throw out my worry because it happened to a baby of mine (probably 2-3 weeks): He got infected with giardia, a protozoa that killed him so quickly we didn't have a chance to do anything. It's incredibly persistent/durable in the environment, because the next baby got infected as well but we...

Things to check: -Consistency of the poop. If the solids and whites are separated, it's a sign something is wrong. Undigested bits/chunks of fiber are also unusual. -Energy levels. Is he sleeping more than usual? A sick bird won't have as much energy. -Physical check. Are his nose or eyes runny...

Strange you mention that Matt, I think one of my hens (Sterling?) is laying again after a period of no laying for about a month. She's paired up with a new mate and though I haven't actually seen anything, the two must be active. Either that, or another female has started to lay really late in...

Did Druisilla recently lay eggs? This is info I learned from an emu breeder: Emus have two hollow bones, their femur. After laying season, emus can be deficient in calcium and that may lead to the weakening of their bones. The hollow femur is most at risk of fracture or breakage in the female...

Final hatch update! I give you feeding time: Since there were seven chicks we named them after the seven days of the week, with Monday (regular colored) being the oldest and Domingo being the youngest, who was the 2nd white chick to hatch! Out of the 8 eggs Denali was sitting on, 7 were...

@dpenning Depends on the temperament of the dog and emu. Based on experience: If the dog is hostile and chases the emus, some emus may hold a grudge against the dog and fight back while other emus will run away and be very stressed around the dog. If the dog is docile, the emu might peck at them...

@Pyxis It's definitely possible the white hen was laying, but I assumed she wasn't since she didn't seem to lay eggs last season either. Maybe she duped me and was Denali's secret second partner, or the younger emus were laying too. There's only one white bird on the property, so it wasn't a...

@aart It's not albino- emus come in three colors: regular (brown), blonde, and white. White birds are the rarest and I assumed you needed at the very least a blonde x blonde pairing to get a white, but this pairing was regular x blonde. White birds typically have clear color/blue/grey eyes...

Update on the hatch: A surprise! The 4th chick hatched white! We didn't even think it was possible, since we're pretty sure the parents are regular x blonde. Either the white emu snuck eggs into the nest or the regular bird has blonde genes somehow? The recently hatched 5th chick is a...

@AlishaRichard Yes they get wry neck. Treat it with vitamin E, which can be put in the water. I had a chick around a month old get it, and it went away after a week of treatment. I used something called E Oil from CVS. You might be able to feed it some directly if it's not drinking much. Hope...

Another one hatched last night! New baby is to the left. Close up There are two more currently hatching! I have to say this is less messy/stressful than the incubator. I've been giving dad emu food and water, which he's been snacking on. He was pecking on the chicks, too. I suppose it's...

Phoenix and Lyra are adorable names!! @sseabass I found this post that gives instructions on how to wrap it - https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/3-week-emu-slipped-tendon.963237/ It seems like an urgent issue that needs to be addressed ASAP. Sorry to hear the poor baby is injured, I hope...

And we've got Number 2!

Wow, he already kicked himself out! For scale, look at the teeny feet and the big toe of his dad!

I have a feeling the chicks will be far more likely to be tame if we hand-raise them, starting from as young as possible. This is my first time for a natural hatch so I can't say definitively, but the chicks will imprint on him rather than us, and I imagine that will have some impact on how...