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For birds over 15 kg, several techniques can be employed, depending on individual size. Juveniles may be restrained by placing one hand under the thorax and the other hand under one leg next to the abdomen, lifting the bird off the ground. After a few seconds of excitement and kicking, the bird will accept restraint and will often relax its legs.
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Wing restraint by two people is often adequate for birds up to seven months of age. Care should be taken, however, as the wings are quite fragile and may easily be broken. Approaching the bird from behind and forcing it to the ground (with continuous downward pressure), is a successful technique for birds up to eight or nine months old.
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One person can guide juvenile birds (4–8 months of age) by holding the tail with one hand and a wing with the other.
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For adult or birds over one year of age different techniques are needed. Birds of this age should be treated with the greatest respect, particularly if it is the breeding season. The handler should bear in mind that an adult male ostrich can kick with a force of up to 225 kg. Ostriches kick only forwards-downwards and backwards or side ways.
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An adult male during breeding should not be underestimated since it will attack with the minimum of provocation or none at all. It is the male prerogative to protect his females and their eggs. If chased by an ostrich, the handler should not try to outrun it, but should simply lie flat on the ground. As the bird cannot kick when the handler is lying flat, it may just stamp on the handler which is far less harmful. Females are usually calmer and more even-tempered and are thus easier to handle.
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The basic principle is to "hood" the bird as quickly and as gently as possible. Hooding, by covering the bird's head and eyes will disorient the bird and allow it to be manoeuvred into a holding pen or ostrich crush. To do this successfully, the handler can either exploit the ostrich’s inquisitive nature, or use a shepherd’s crook.
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The handler first rolls the hood up over one hand. As the curious bird approaches to peck at the hood, its beak is grasped by the hand with the hood. The free hand then quickly unrolls the hood over the bird’s head and down the neck. For an experienced handler, this method takes about five seconds. In the second method, a shepherd’s crook can be used to pull the bird’s head down so that it can be grasped by the handler or an assistant, and the hood unrolled over the head.
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The bird can then be manoeuvred by two or three people - one on each wing and one behind the rump. Handlers at the wing should hold the wing close to the body in the axillary position, while the person at the rump pushes the bird forward, even pushing the tail over the back. Hoods may be made from virtually any fabric, even from old clothing. Still the aim is to obstruct the bird’s vision, hoods should be opaque, soft, and long enough to cover the bird’s head and part of its neck. The handler should avoid covering the bird’s nostrils, since this may hinder its breathing.
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Other methods sometimes used for handling and restraining adult ostriches are either to grasp the head or to grip the inside corner of the lower mandible, by applying slight pressure, and then rapidly push the head down to the ground. When first captured in this way, the bird will fan its wings and make hopping efforts to free itself.
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It will frequently back up several paces before eventually sitting in the sternal position. Extreme caution should be exercised by the handler to avoid causing serious injuries to the head, neck and beak. The beak area in particular has rich innervation and is therefore very sensitive. Excessive force backwards on the head against the neck can split the beak, dislocate the neck and even kill the bird.
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The birds can be restrained by using a shepherd’s crook. The width at the narrowest part of the crook should be sufficient to place over the bird’s neck. Extendible hooks made of light weight fibre glass are available to ensure the safe capture of adult birds. They extend to over 2.5 m and retract to 1.5 m.
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To restrain an ostrich once hooded, an ostrich crush is necessary. This is basically a simple triangular structure that allows the ostrich to be manoeuvred inside it while restricting its movement.
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It can be made from solid wooden bars or metal pipes, each approximately 1.2 m long and 1.2m high; padding the bars prevents any injury to the bird. The narrow front should also be padded and be no less than 70 cm wide to allow the bird’s chest to rest against it comfortably. A crossbar is fitted at the back of the crush to prevent the bird from backing. Straps can then be placed over the bird’s back.
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