LPM 222: Diversified poultry production and current concepts in poultry management and marketing [Livestock Production Management (Regional Interest)] (1+1)

EMU PAEDIATRICS

• During the first 48 to 72 hours, emu chicks are restricted to Hatcher itself for absorption of egg yolk and proper drying.
• The brooding shed should be prepared well in advance with thorough cleaning and disinfection and flooring should be covered with gunny bags to prevent slipping of legs of young chicks.
• Emu chicks have long legs and are very active, slippery flooring will make emu chicks to have hip dislocation resulting in irreparable damage.
• Hatcher trays are also slippery for a new born chick, and it might be advisable to place a small towel or cloth in the bottom of the hatcher, to assist the chick in moving around without hurting itself.

Fig. 9.10. Hobbling of chicks to prevent spraddle leg condition

• The absorbed yolk sac will provide for the basic nutritional needs for the first few days, but the chick needs to be provided with a warm and safe environment, especially for its first few days. Once hatched, swab the chick’s navel with betadine or an iodine solution, to prevent bacteria from entering the chick through the navel.
• If the yolk is not fully absorbed, or the navel well closed, this needs to be rectified gently. If the yolk is still protruding, it needs to be gently pushed in through the naval. This needs to be done quickly, as the naval will begin contracting and closing as soon as the chick cools down. If the yolk has not been fully absorbed by this time, the chick will become infected in the yolk, as it dries out, and it will die. Therefore using sterilized fingers the yolk is pushed inside quickly and firmly. Gently swab the area with Betadine. The chick is normally damp at hatch, but quickly dries off.
• The growing emu chicks are most vulnerable to diseases and mortality from the time of hatching to three months of age. Managers need to practise good sanitation and implement disease monitoring and prevention programs. Emu have a tendency to hide illness. As a result, managers need to have a method of detecting illness early in order to prevent death losses. The most common health problems are stress, stomach impaction and diarrhoea.
• The single largest cause of chick death is overcrowding and suffocation. Chicks should be restricted to 25 birds per pen with a heat source that is spread out enough that they do not have to crowd to keep warm.
• Impaction commonly occurs in ostriches and rheas, but is less common in emus. This is attributed to a higher food passage rate and differences in structure of the digestive tract in emus, compared with ostriches and rheas. However, impaction in emus can result from ingestion of long fibrous materials such as long grass, synthetic fibres from carpet and string.