In a first, farm gets emu chicks through natural breeding

George Rebeiro with the male emu and newly hatched chicks at a farm in Kollam.

It is perhaps the first case of emu chicks being hatched through natural breeding in Kerala. Six hatched from a clutch of eight eggs. Of the six, four died, but two are growing strong. Two eggs are yet to hatch.

The two chicks belong to the Shreyas Farm of the Kollam Latin Catholic diocese, located near Chavara.

Veterinarians connected with emu farms in the State said they had only been aware of incubator-based emu breeding in the State.

George Rebeiro, a priest who manages the farm, said when he noticed brooding in the emu pair, he did not move the eggs from the place where they were laid. In one corner, the male suddenly began preparing a nest where the female then laid the eggs.

Fr Rebeiro said it is the male emu that played a prominent role in brooding. “He sat over the eggs most of the time while the female loitered around foraging”. The male even hardly ate anything and drank only very little water for the next 56 days, he said.

The female began showing some attention after the chicks emerged, but it was still the male that showed signs of aggressively defending the chicks.

Fr. Rebeiro said when the brooding began, he enquired about any precedents of emu natural breeding in the State and even neighbouring Tamil Nadu but could not get a positive reply.