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

Emu sex identification

SEXING OF EMUS

• It is difficult to identify the sexes from 3 to 14 months because the difference in morphology of sexual organs is much less, often causing mistakes in gender identification.
• The sexual organs increase in size at puberty and then again at the onset of breeding season, after which there is a slight reduction in size until the next breeding season. For this reason it is better to determine the sex at hatch, or wait until maturity. However, DNA sexing is accurate and can be carried out at any age.
• In DNA sexing, a blood sample or mature feather from the emu is collected and sent to a laboratory for gender identification. The birds must be at least 4 months old for plucking a feather for this purpose because it requires a double plume feather.

A. Sexing of chicks

• Many farmers prefer to sex the chicks immediately or prior to moving from the hatcher to the brooder. Therefore, permanent or semi-permanent identifications can be applied at this time so a notation of the chicks’ sex is appropriate.
• Chicks are easier to handle and their vent is clean for examination without much faeces.

1. Vent sexing

• In order to manually sex chicks one should be very gentle so that no harm is done to the chicks. Inserting non-gloved and non-lubricated finger into the cloaca can injure the chick. Wearing latex gloves, turn the chick upside down and very gently move aside the feathers surrounding the cloaca.
• Using the thumb and fore finger, apply a little pressure to either side in a gentle kneading motion to evert the sexual organs. If the chick is male, the phallus will show as a little gray or whitish stem with a white tip.
• A female will have a pink or purple to bluish triangular shaped clitoris similar in shape to a rose bud. If sexual organs are not well-defined, the chick to be culled.

Fig.9.23. Phallus of a male chick

• At about 9 months of age, sex determination becomes easy when the penis emerges during urination.

2. Feather patterns

• Male chicks have a bulls-eye pattern; females have an irregular feather pattern on the top of the head. If a chick has a salt and pepper speckled or mottled pattern, it will not reproduce and is culled.

Fig.9.24. Feather pattern of male and female emu

Males	Females
The non-erect phallus has a short firm cartilage base and an ostium or opening inthe tip that contains the portion of non-cartilaginous phallus that extends during arousal.	The clitoris feels soft compared to the phallus and vary in size from ¾ inch to almost nothing. There is no ostium in the tip.

B. Sexing of mature emu

1. Examination of phallus

• In adult emus gloved lubricated finger of the examiner can be inserted into the cloaca and the sexual organ can either be palpated or gently everted and visually examined.

Palpation

• Examination for the presence of hard cartilage on the sexual organ is carried out by palpation.
• Hard cartilage indicates the presence of a phallus of male, lack of this cartilage indicates female.

Visual examination

• In order to visually examine the sexual organs, they must be everted.
• Insert the gloved lubricated finger into the cloaca and feel sexual organ. By applying firm pressure the organ is everted.

Fig.9.25. Sex organ of adult male emu

Hermaphrodite

• Presence of both male and female reproductive organs are rare. These birds should be culled.

2. Sexing by sound

• As emu chicks of both sexes make a whistling, chirping or cheeping sound, sex differentiation by sound is not possible in chicks. When they reach adulthood the sounds commonly made by each sex will change.
• The ‘voice change’ begins when the birds are between 10 to 14 months old. At this time both sexes will be heard making grunting sounds. Soon after the female goes through a physical change, her throat sac begins to develop.
• During this time the sounds she makes will vary from grunting to a guttural drumming. Whereas male does not go through this change and its sound remains as grunting. By the time the birds are sexually mature, the sound they produced by females can be easily distinguished from that of a male grunt.
• The female can usually drum in two pitches. One is a higher, faster sound made when excited or stressed. The other is a deeper, richer booming that sounds like a drum. The sound can be heard as far as 1 ½ miles away.

Fig.9.26. Female emu making drumming sound with inflated air sac

• The male will make a variety of grunting sounds, varying from short stuttering grunts to deep gruff sounds. Males will also whistle to their chicks. The most common time for booming and grunting is during evening hours or just before rain.
• Bird calls are unpredictable at times, because each bird needs to be observed individually, and this can be difficult in an enclosure housing many birds. As breeding season approaches, the birds begin to call more than in the summer months

Identification

• Once the birds are sexed, they should be tagged with identification marks. The most reliable way of tagging emus is with a microchip and a hand-held scanner. A leg tag can easily also be used. This needs to be water proof and sturdy.
• Leg tags need to be replaced periodically, to prevent the tag from being lost, or becoming too tight around the leg. A last option for identifying a bird is by tattoo.
• A small hand-held pet tattoo device can be used to write identifying numbers/names on the birds’ skin, usually just under the wing, as this area has only few feathers. This is best done at 6 to 8 months of age.

Fig.9.27. Different methods of identification