Advantages of Ostrich Farming

1. The first advantage to ostrich farming is that the birds do not require an enormous amount of land to graze upon, which is unlike cattle or sheep. Only 1/3 of an acre of land is required to raise a pair of ostriches and if a third bird is added, then only 1/2 of an acre would be required.

2. A second advantage to ostrich farming is that they breed extremely earlier and more regularly than traditional animals such as beef cattle. For example, the female ostrich may begin to produce eggs at the age of 2, and can produce anywhere from 30 to 90 eggs per year. Due to these figures, the potential for the ostrich market is enormous, in that the meat tastes similar to beef, and however, it is much healthier than beef due to the fact that it is very low in fat and cholesterol. Since this “red” meat has been proven to be quite healthier than traditional red meat, many health conscious consumers throughout the world, who are worried about the risk of heart attacks, high blood pressure, and heart disease, would be interested in the purchasing of ostrich meat.

3. Another benefit to the ostrich rancher is that when an ostrich is slaughtered, very little is wasted in the slaughtering process. When an ostrich is brought to slaughter the meat is sold to distributors and restaurants, the hide is sold for the production of high quality leather products, the feet are ground into a fine dust and sold to the far east as an aphrodisiac, the feathers of the ostrich are sold to automobile manufacturers and are used in the final stage of painting new automobiles, and lastly, the eyes are sold to research facilities to perform studies to gain more knowledge on human cataracts.

4. Some of the other advantages to the ostrich industry are that it currently has access to buying and breeding programs On-Line, and ostrich farms can communicate with each other from the US, Australia, and New Zealand via the inter-net. Ostriches On-Line can do all of the husbandry for the prospective farmer, which includes incubation, hatching, boarding, sales of eggs and chicks, and even the taking of the birds to slaughter.[Source: http://www.ostrichnepal.com/?page_id=57… ]