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Jr. Johnson of Songline Emu Farm in Gill Massachusetts has
successfully begun hatching his own brood of emu chicks.
Songline Farm normally uses a mechanized incubator for hatching
because the emu laying season occurs between December and
April the coldest time of the year. However when Jr. began
showing serious signs of wanting to brood his own eggs the farm
left some of the season’s final eggs for him. He began sitting
in late April and his chicks are just now starting to hatch.
The Australian male emu does all of the brooding and child
rearing. When he has gathered a clutch of 6-8 eggs from his
mate, who lays one egg every 3 to 4 days, he goes into a state
of semi-hibernation – not eating, drinking or defecating for 50
to 54 days while he keeps the eggs warm and rotates them
repeatedly though out the day. When the chicks hatch the male
stays with them until they are 5-6 months old. The female takes
no part in the child rearing.
Johnson is currently sitting on 11 eggs, the first one hatched
Friday June 13th . We wish Jr. Johnson a very happy
Fathers Day.
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ps - he hatched 6 of his 11 eggs and sat well
over 56 days before we removed the remaining eggs from him.
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