The Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) has set up a flightless bird research centre, a first in the State, on the university campus at Pookode in Wayanad district.
“The centre envisages to carry out research on adaptation and comparative physiological studies of flightless birds such as the ostrich, rhea, and emu, and artificial incubation of their eggs,” John Abraham, assistant professor, Department of Livestock Production and Management, KVASU, told The Hindu .
It has been set up at the instructional livestock farm of the university at a cost of ₹6.50 lakh with facilities such as separate shelters for the flightless birds and an artificial incubation centre to hatch their eggs.
Six-month-old ostrich chicks were procured from the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University at Kattupakkam, Chennai, at ₹50,000 each recently. The centre had procured 10 emus and carried out artificial incubation successfully. Four six-month-old chicks weighing 120 kg each and 6 ft tall were transported in an improvised air-conditioned vehicle.
“Though it was very risky transporting these heavy birds, we could safely bring them,” he said. Dr. John, along with C. Balusami and R. Senthil Kumar, assistant professors of the department, undertook the challenge of transporting the birds 1,462 km at a stretch.
The birds will grow to double the size in one and a half years and will start laying eggs. The ostrich produces the largest egg, weighing 1.5 kg.
Ostriches are the oldest birds on the earth that have existed for 120 million years and were even seen in India. But they came extinct in course of time, Dr. John said.
The varsity also plans to bring as many as 10 rhea birds to the centre from the Thiruvananthapuram zoo in two weeks, he said.
