Paper presented at the 58th New Zealand Grassland Association Conference, 21-24 October 1996, Oamaru.Ostrich are currently being promoted as an
alternative to sheep, cattle and deer. Although
current bird prices are not sustainable, New Zealand
and overseas experience to date suggest ostrich
can be farmed successfully and profitability long
term. Climate and terrain of the east coast of New
Zealand suit ostrich physical requirements. It has
been suggested that production systems will
develop in which grazed herbage will provide 60%
or more of the nutritional requirements. The ability
to graze low-cost herbage combined with a
reproduction rate of about 25 progeny per hen per
year indicate that ostrich production systems may
be three times more efficient than beef or deer at
turning feed into lean meat. The low fat and low
cholesterol meat is likely to be the primary product
and is already being sold in international markets.
There is also a market for the leather, feathers and
oil by-products

Brown, CDA

Thompson, KF

Lincoln University Research Archive

273Proceedings of  the New Zealand Grassland Association 58: 273–277 (1996)Ostrich – A diversification option for east coast farms?C.D.A. BROWN1 and K.F. THOMPSON21Agriculture New Zealand, Private Bag 50034, Mosgiel2Animal and Veterinary Sciences Group, Box 84, Lincoln UniversityAbstractOstrich are currently being promoted as analternative to sheep, cattle and deer. Althoughcurrent bird prices are not sustainable, New Zealandand overseas experience to date suggest ostrichcan be farmed successfully and profitability longterm. Climate and terrain of the east coast of NewZealand suit ostrich physical requirements. It hasbeen suggested that production systems willdevelop in which grazed herbage will provide 60%or more of the nutritional requirements. The abilityto graze low-cost herbage combined with areproduction rate of about 25 progeny per hen peryear indicate that ostrich production systems maybe three times more efficient than beef or deer atturning feed into lean meat. The low fat and lowcholesterol meat is likely to be the primary productand is already being sold in international markets.There is also a market for the leather, feathers andoil by-products.Keywords: diversification, east coast, farmingsystems, meat, ostrichIntroductionOstrich are being promoted as an alternative to traditionalpastoral farming of sheep, cattle and deer. Currentinterest in ostrich has been encouraged by investment“hype” and the suggestion that there may be large returnson invested capital. However, the long-term success ofostrich farming will depend on sustained demand fortheir products and the integration of these grazing birdsinto intensive pastoral farming systems.Ostrich have been farmed in South Africa since1838. Initially, feathers were the main commercialproduct. In the early 1900s ostrich were introducedinto other countries, including Australia and NewZealand. A change in clothing fashion coinciding withWorld War I led to a collapse in ostrich farming. Therevival of ostrich farming began in South Africa afterWorld War II, initially driven demand for feathers, butmore lately by the demand for leather. By 1993, SouthAfrican ostrich farmers were receiving the equivalentof about NZ$800 per slaughter bird. The contributionto this value was 75% from hides, 7% from feathers,and 18% from meat (Smith et al. 1995). In the last 15years ostrich farming has been established in otherSouthern African countries, Europe, North Americaand Australia. The modern renewal of interest incommercial farming of ostrich in New Zealand beganin 1993. In June 1995 there were 650 birds; in May1996 there were an estimated 3600 birds, of which 450were hatched from eggs laid in New Zealand (M. Taylor,NZ Ostrich Assoc. pers. comm.). Importation of eggsand live birds were the primary source of the increasednumbers in 1995–96.This paper outlines the management requirementsfor successful ostrich production, and considers likelytechnical issues associated with ostrich farming in thedry east coast environment.Growth and reproductionWith good feeding, the mature size of 90–130 kg canbe reached at 12–14 months of age (Degen et al. 1991).There is variation in both growth rate and time to reachmature size in ostrich from different sources (du Preezet al. 1992). Smith et al. (1995) reported achieving35–38 kg usable meat from 6 to 7-month birds with afeed conversion ratio of 4:1. Sexual maturity occurs at2–2.5 years for females and about 6 months later formales. Breeding activity is common in birds over 25years of age (Smith et al. 1995).Hens lay an egg of 1.2–1.7 kg mass every secondday, producing about 50 eggs during a breeding seasonunder farmed conditions. Chicks hatch after 42 days ofincubation.There is considerable variation among birds in thenumber of eggs laid, the fertility level and the eventualhatch rate of chicks. Management, particularly hygieneassociated with egg collection and incubation,contributes to this variability. Chick mortality can behigh, and Smith et al. (1995) quotes average mortalityrates from South Africa of 50%, 10% and 3% for chicksup to 3 months, 3–6 months and 6–14 months,respectively. To date, experienced farmers in NewZealand and Australia have achieved lower mortalityrates than those reported from South Africa and good274operators expect to hatch over 80% of eggs laid andlose less than 10% of the chicks. The industry in NewZealand quotes an average annual figure of 25 chickssurviving to 3 months per breeding hen.Incredibly, a breed society was not established inSouth Africa until 1994. Consequently. There are limiteddata on genetic parameters for ostrich production traits.Smith et al. (1995) expects the heritability for liveweightgain to be relatively high, as it is for most farmedproduction species, but reproductive heritabilities to belower.ProductsMeat is likely to be the primary product from NewZealand farmed ostrich. Trial slaughterings by theAustralian Ostrich Corporation have averaged 35 kg oflean meat from 12-month-old birds averaging 100 kgliveweight (Chas Dale, GM, pers. comm.). Ostrichproduce red meat with a subtle game taste. The meat islow in fat and cholesterol (Table 1). It has appeal to theaffluent health-conscious European and Asian markets.The Australian Ostrich Corporation has receivedunsolicited enquires to supply meat to 19 countries.Canadians who are processing ostrich for the localrestaurant market have received enquires for meat fromJapan, South Korea and China, and as yet are unable tosupply.Body skin leather is made into jackets and briefcasesthat retail for the equivalent of NZ$3000 to NZ$5000.The price is influenced by the current world shortageof ostrich leather. However, the distinctive quill patternthat gives the body leather its unique appearance mayrestrict its use. Leather from the legs has an appearancesimilar to crocodile leather and is used in similarproducts. Over 40 tanneries throughout the world havethe expertise to process ostrich skins to leather.Leather characteristics change as a bird ages. Thepelt increases in strength and follicle shape changes asfeathers become “ripe”. For this latter reason, birds arenot normally slaughtered in South Africa until 14 monthsof age, despite reaching adequate body size to producethe 1.20 dm2 size skin by 10 months (Mellett 1995).Feather production is a specialised industry, andwelfare considerations are likely to preclude featherplucking in New Zealand. Sales literature quotes by-products such as eyes for cornea transplants and oil forcosmetic purposes as adding to the value of slaughterbirds.The industry in New Zealand is currently in thebreeding-up stage and bird price is determined by the“investor market”. An indication of present commercialreturns can be gained from other countries. Farmers inthe USA and Canada have been receiving NZ$1200 to$1500 per bird at 10–12 months of age. In 1995 SouthAfrican farmers were receiving approximately NZ$800for 12- 14-month-old birds, and the Australian OstrichCorporation guarantees approximately NZ$900 for birdsof about 100 kg liveweight. We expect these priceswill drop as bird numbers increase.Productivity and profitabilityThe reproductive performance of ostrich has a majorimpact on meat output. Not all eggs hatch and chickmortality under 3 months can be high. The industryuses an average figure of 20 live chicks per hen peryear and we believe this is a reasonable average figure.The variability among birds is high and some peoplewho have purchased one or two hens and find they areof below-average performance are likely to be disap-pointed.Estimates of energy requirements for ostrich are notas well established as they are for sheep, cattle and deer.Weight Calories Protein Fat. Sat Mono. unsat Poly. unsat Cholesterol Carbo. Calciumg g g g g g mg g mgOstrich 85 96.9 18.2 1.7 Neg. Neg. Negligible 49.3 2.1 5.2Chicken (roastedflesh only) 85 140 27.0 3.0 0.9 1.1 0.7 72.0 - 13.0Turkey (roasted lightmeat flesh only) 85 135 25.0 3.0 0.9 0.5 0.7 59.0 - 16.0Beef (lean, ground,broiled) 85 230 21 16 6.2 6.9 0.6 74.0 - 9.0(leaned, steak,broiled) 85 240 23 15 6.4 6.9 0.6 77.0 - 9.0Lamb (lean, leg,roasted) 85 205 22 13 5.6 4.9 0.8 78 - 8.0Port (lean, leg,broiled) 85 275 24 19 7.0 8.8 2.2 84 - 3.0From “Nutritive Value of Foods” USDA, Home & Garden Bulletin No. 72 and AVS Quality Testing Laboratory Report No. C80–0100 forDr Kevin Owen 27/1/89.Table 1 Comparative nutrient values of a range of meats.275From calorimetric studies Swart et al. (1993)determined the maintenance requirements for adultostrich to be:MR = 0.44 * LW 0.75(MJ ME/day)Thompson (1996) used this as a basis forestimating the requirements for breeding ostrichin an outdoor New Zealand environment andsuggested that the annual requirement was 780 kgDM for the hen and 640 kg DM for the cock. Suchestimates are compatible with the average dailyconsumption of all mash rations presented in Table2. Degen et al. (1991) derived a relationship toproduce metabolised energy intake for growing birds.We have estimated the annual dry matter requirementfor a breeding pair (hen plus cock) producing 25progeny raised to 115 kg liveweight in 13 months, thusproducing 1000 kg of lean meat. This ostrich systemrequires 17 kg DM per kg meat and this is comparedwith estimates for existing pastoral systems (Table 3).The available feed intake production data suggest thatostrich may be up to three times more efficient thandeer or beef cattle and four times more efficient thansheep at producing meat per kg DM.However, ostrich systems do not fit the annualpattern of pasture production as well as sheep. Inaddition, it is not known the extent to which commercialfeed, balanced for essential amino acids and minerals,can be replaced by a pasture diet. The current feedingpractice on many New Zealand farms is for commercialfeed to provide 40% or less of requirements and stillachieve satisfactory growth and reproduction per-Age Liveweight Averagerange daily intake(in months) (kg) (kg DM)Chick 0–1 0.73–3 0.121–2.5 3–15 0.36Juvenile 2.5–6 15–60 1.56–11 60–80 2.511–14 80–100 2.2Breeder – maintenance over 14 100–120 2.3– breeding season over 30 110–120 2.5Source: Kreibich & Sommer 1995.Table 2 Average daily consumption by ostriches of differentage groups on all mash rations.Table 3 Comparison of typical feed required and lean meat production for various stock systems.Description kg DM consumed, kg DM consumed, Total kg DM kg lean meat kg DM per kg Gross marginadult stock growing stock consumed produced lean meat per kg DMSheep 565 270 835 13.5 62 8cBeef 3840 2200 6040 110 55 5cDeer 745 655 1400 31 46 17cOstrich 1420 15880 17300 1000 17 50cAssumptions: - 10.8 megajoules of metabolisable energy per kg dry matter- Animal growth rates and feed demand based on good industry averages, modelled through computer program“stockpol”.- Ostrich production reflects likely future industry averages for pasture based system.- Returns based on a gross margin basis, with no allowance for farm running costs or cost of capital.Sheep Beef Deer Ostrich58 kg ewe 500 kg cow 103 kg hind 120 kg breeding pair135% lambing 92% calving 89% weaning 25 chicks grown to17 kg works lamb: $44 calve as 2-yr-old venison at 18 months 115 kg at 13 monthscrossbred wool $3/kg (greasy) 20-month heifers: 200 kg: $325 18-month hinds: 51 kg cow: $330 40 kg meat per bird20-month steers: 250 kg cow: $450 18-month stags: 62 kg cow: $365 $500 per 13-month birdvelvetformance. Table 4 outlines the present gross return perkg of DM consumed. These calculations assume a saleprice of NZ$500 for 13-month birds. This is below thecurrent prices for slaughter birds in Australia, SouthAfrica or USA. The high reproductive efficiency ofostrich gives a gross return per kg of DM consumed of$0.50, compared with 6 to 17¢ for conventional systems.Note that 20 to 40% of the total feed consumption willcomprise pelleted ration rather than herbage. The costper kg of DM of hard feed relative to the gross marginper kg consumed will effect the return achieved per kgof herbage DM.However, this return is highly sensitive toreproductive efficiency and bird price (Table 4). Withbird numbers increasing world wide, the resultingincreased supply of meat will almost certainly result inreduced prices for slaughter birds. At reduced bird prices,farmers will need to reduce feed costs to maintain profitmargins, primarily through greater use of grazed herbage.276Suitability of pastures for pasture grazingOstrich are more suited to a grazing regime thanproduction poultry. Their digestive system is moresimilar to that of a pig or horse than a chicken, in thatostrich have a functional large intestine where microbialdigestion occurs. Smith et al. (1995) cited experimentsthat showed that fibre fermentation in the colon couldcontribute as much as 76% of the maintenancerequirement for growing birds. They also showed thatostrich, compared with fowl, were considerably moreefficient at digesting fibre and protein. The practice ofusing pig or poultry standards for ostrich is likely tolead to inappropriate rations and level of feeding.Lucerne has been successfully used in conjunction withcommercial feed in South Africa, Australia and Texas.Ostrich are territorial, and less suited to rotationalgrazing than sheep, cattle or deer. Mating birds shouldbe left in their paddock for most of the year. Springand summer pasture production surplus to the ostrichrequirement is being controlled either by regular orconcurrent grazing by sheep. Mobs of juveniles maybe moved around paddocks with which they are familiar,and electric fencing has been used successfully in NewZealand for break-feeding of lucerne to juvenile birds.Although ostrich can handle fibre, the primarydigestive process is in the proventriculus where acidand enzyme digestion occurs. Therefore pasture speciesare likely to influence animal performance. Little isknown about plant species and comparative birdperformance, but it is assumed that species that are ofhigher nutritive value than ryegrass for ruminants arelikely to also be of higher nutritive value for ostrich.DiseaseOstrich are host to internal parasites. The mostpotentially pathogenic is Libyostrongylus douglassi(proventricular wire worm). Ivermectin is being usedsuccessfully in Australia for parasite control (BlackTable 4 Sensitivity table, gross returns from ostrich $ per kgDM dry matter consumed.Bird price $300 $400 $500 $600 $700chicks sold perbreeding pair5 (0.14) (0.03) 0.07 0.17 0.2710 0.05 0.18 0.30 0.43 0.5515 0.14 0.27 0.41 0.54 0.6820 0.18 0.32 0.47 0.61 0.7525 0.21 0.36 0.50 0.65 0.7930 0.24 0.38 0.53 0.68 0.8235 0.25 0.40 0.55 0.70 0.85Assumptions:Birds sold at 13 months at 115 kg liveweight.1995). Libyostrongylus is not yet present in NewZealand. It is likely to arrive, and be a major problemwhere ostrich are managed in an intensive grazingsystem. Roundworms and tapeworms that infect sheepand cattle have not been observed in ostrich.Ostrich have evolved in a dry environment withlow relative humidity. They have similar moistureconservation characteristics as camels, and conservemoisture before exhaling air. Their air-way systems aresusceptible to the fungal infection aspergillosis, whichcan be fatal if not treated. This condition is more likelyin humid regions, so the drier areas of the east coastshould be suitable for ostrich.Environmental considerationsAdults are relatively hardy and are commercially farmedin environments as diverse as the semi-desert of SouthAfrica, Israel, or Texas to the frozen winters with -40°temperatures in Canada. The pelage gives effectiveinsulation against dry cold, but as ostrich lack downfeathers, and the feathers have no oil, they cope lesswell in rain, particularly if associated with wind. Ostrichdo not produce methane. Some farmers consider thatbreeding birds require visual privacy for best repro-ductive performance.SummaryOstrich have a high reproductive rate, and undercommercial farming conditions in New Zealand areexpected on average to produce in excess of 20 livechicks per breeding hen per year. Combined with highgrowth capacity which leads to a 100 kg bird at 12months of age, this means ostrich meat productionsystems could possibly be three times more efficientthan cattle or deer. The meat and leather are highlyvalued products and the red meat product is likely toattract demand in affluent Asian markets.Pastures of high nutritive value will be required andnew grazing management techniques and new pasturemixes are likely to be required.Ostrich, particularly adults, are very territorial,which makes set-stocking the most appropriatemanagement system. Management systems to controlexcessive summer pasture growth will need to bedeveloped. Shelter from wind, and visual shelter, arealso likely requirements in the east coast environment.Overall we believe that ostrich have considerablepotential as an alternative to sheep, cattle and deer.Even at meat prices comparable with those of other redmeats, their ability to graze herbage, and highreproductive rate, suggest that satisfactory profit marginson feed inputs can be obtained.277REFERENCESBlack, D.G. 1995. Ostrich examination. post graduatecommittee in veterinary science, University ofSydney. p. 15.Degen, A.A.; Kam, M.; Roenstrauch, A.; Plavnik, I.1991. Growth rate, total body water volume, dry-matter intake and water consumption of domesticatedostrich (Struthio camelus). British Society of AnimalProduction 52: 225–232.Kreibich, A.; Sommer, M. 1995. In: Ostrich farmmanagement. Ed. Kreibich and Sommer p.53.Mellett, F.D. 1995. Ostrich products. pp. 28–44. In:Practical guide for ostrich management and ostrichproducts. Ed. W.A. Smith.du Preez, J.J.; Jarvis, M.J.F.; Capatos, D.; de Kock, J.1992. A note on growth curves for the ostrich(Struthio camelus). British Society of AnimalProduction 54: 150–152.Smith, W.A.; Cilliers, S.C.; Mellet, F.D.; van Schalkwyk,S.J. 1995. Ostrich production – a South Africanperspective. In: Biotechnology in the feed industry.Proceedings of Alltech’s eleventh annual sympo-sium. Ed. T.P. Lyons and K.A Jacques.Swart, D.; Siebrits, F.K.; Hayes, J.P. 1993. South Africanjournal of animal science.Thompson, K.F. 1996. Ostrich energy requirements anddigestion. New Zealand ostrich journal 1 (Autumn):14.!278

Ostrich - a diversification option for east coast farms?

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