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About Ostrich - the Big Bird

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The Ostrich - flightless big bird.

The ostrich is a large, swift-running flightless bird of Africa, distinguished by a long bare neck, small head, and two-toed feet. It is the largest living bird and it lays the largest egg of any bird species. Some male ostrich get to a height of 8 ft (244 cm) and weigh from 200 to 300 lb (90-135 kg). The ostrich runs at enormous speed with wings outspread. The inner of the two toes on each foot is much the bigger and tolerates most of the bird's weight. The ostrich kicks when angered and can impose severe injury.

The Ostrich

The Ostriches have a lengthy neck with no feathers and a beak and beneath the neck a large fat body with feathers and wings and beneath that fat body it has long legs and no feathers on its legs.

In the Roman times, there was a need for ostriches to use in games or food preparation. They have been hunted and farmed for their feathers, which at different times in history have been admired for enhancement in stylish clothing (hats during the 19th century). Their skins were also appreciated to make commodities out of leather. In the 18th century, they were almost hunted to extermination; farming for feathers commenced in the 19th century. The demand for feathers distorted after World War I, but profit-making farming for feathers and later for skins, became prevalent during the 1970s. Although they are farmed mainly for leather and secondarily for meat, extra by-products are the eggs, offal, and feathers. Ostrich eggs can be used in a like fashion to chicken eggs, with the normal size ratio being 16 chicken eggs:1 ostrich egg.

Flightless Bird

Ostriches are nomadic, traveling wherever food is most quickly obtainable in the open dry grasslands of East Africa, South Africa, and in the Sahara and adjacent Sahel area. Ostriches eat a variety of seeds, grasses, bushes and forage on trees. They enhance this diet with animal food such as invertebrates and small vertebrates which they hunt by running. However, they not at all stray very distant from water, of which they need one and a half gallon per day. Admirable eyesight and sharp hearing are the ostrich's most significant senses. Like a giraffe the ostrich is a vital lookout for many African grazing mammals such as antelopes, zebras, giraffes and gazelles. In adding up to speed, their lengthy legs adapt them to travel great distances in search of food and water, and are talented of powerful kicks against predators. The ostrich's thick eyelashes defend its eyes in the course of a sand storm.

Ostriches start on propagation at the age of 4 and their lifetime is between 30 to 70 years. The completed clutch is hatched by the male at night and the leading female during the day. The motivation for this is that at night, the dark feathers of the male ostrich makes recognition by predators more tough. Likewise, during the day the female's lighter brown feathers merge in with the nearby grassland colors. Soon before the eggs hatch, the chicks will begin calling from within the shell, so the parents will recognize them by their calls once they are hatched. The hatching period is 45 days and the chicks run about within minutes of hatching. The parents keep close watch over the chicks continuously. They will guide guiding them to food (seeds and vegetation) water and they will afford shade for the chicks. Even with the shield of the parents only about 1 chick in 10 will stay alive its first year. The chick becomes self-determining at the age of 1 year.

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Ostrich riding

Run Fast!

An ostrich has been seen to pass an antelope in full run at 40 miles per hour, a feat which places it amongst the best ever of all birds, in spite of the reality that it does not fly. Having discarded flight the Ostrich has lost the tough, stiff feathers of the wing and tail that mark aerial species. As an alternative, a development of soft plumage, with almost the warmth of down, acts as an padding hostile to the harsh temperature tolerated by Ostriches throughout their arid range. comparing its body the ostrich's wings are very small. Two of the wing-fingers end in claws or spurs that can be used in assault.

Breeding and eggs

The breeding season for ostriches starts in March and April and can continuing until September. Breeding period length mostly depends upon food availability, bird and climate condition. About two months before to the beginning of the breeding time of year birds should be divided into breeding pairs. Collections of one male and two female birds can also be caged together. Bird condition is vital because unhealthful and unsuitably conditioned birds will habitually be less creative egg layers.

Soon after mating, the female will lay between 12 and 15 eggs. Normally, females will lay an egg every other day. If the fresh eggs are collected from the nest daily, the hen may lay up to 80 eggs, although 40 to 50 is more normal. An insufficient diet may effect in less egg making. Ostrich eggs are the biggest of all eggs and weigh about 2.5 pounds. The content of one ostrich egg is equal to twenty four chicken eggs!

About Ostrich - the Big Bird

The Ostrich - flightless big bird.

Contents at a Glance

The Ostrich

Flightless Bird

Ostrich riding

Run Fast!

Breeding and eggs

Ostrich Product - Voting (Plexo)

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