Emu Facts

Emu's are native to Australia and have been around for approximately 20-60million years.
Emu's belong to the RATITE family which is a group of flightless birds (this includes Ostriches, Rhea, Kiwi and Cassowary)
They weigh between 50-65 kilograms and can be up to 2 metres in height.
The have a life span of up to 30 years can be more when kept in captivity.
Their scientific name is Dromaius Novae Hollandae which means "Camel of New Holland." This is due to the emu having a layer of fat under the skin that it can live off during a drought or when the emu incubates the eggs.
They eat seeds, fruit, grain, and insects.
They are nomadic and territorial.
They start laying eggs around ANZAC day (25th of April) and can lay eggs until September. They start laying eggs then because this is after the first rains of Autumn and therefore there is green pick around for the chicks when they hatch out.
The emu lays 15-20 eggs in their first year of breeding and then they can lay 25-30 eggs each year after that.
The female lays the eggs BUT the MALE sits on the eggs to incubate them.
He will roll the eggs every 3 hours and his feathers and body keep the eggs at the correct temperature and humidity for incubation to succeed.
They eggs are incubated for on average 52 days.
The male emu doesn't eat or drink during this time he lives off his layer of fat and he slows down his metabolism.

Once the chicks hatch the father will look after them up until they are 12 months old.