Ostriches
Watch the beak!
The ostrich is an extremely curious bird and a very eager pecker. You should be especially careful with your glasses; an ostrich can swallow objects as large as an apple! Paradoxically, even a single long blade of grass stuck in its throat can be fatal to the bird.
Our ostriches are accustomed to their caretakers, and we’ve learned to read their signals. For example, our lead male, Akseli, is quite friendly with the lady of the house, but we always maintain a healthy level of caution.
A powerful kicker
While a peck from an ostrich might hurt, it isn’t dangerous. However, if an ostrich gets angry, it can kick forward with the force of a horse, reaching heights of up to two meters and striking three times per second.
An ostrich's claw is one of the hardest materials in the animal kingdom and can easily pierce through a predator — or a person. In the wild, ostriches have been known to kick attacking lions to death.
Incredible senses
Ostriches possess several traits that amaze scientists:
An ostrich’s brain is smaller than its eyeball. However, that eye is the largest of any land animal.
They can spot an object the size of a sugar cube from three kilometers away.
They are the only birds in the world with a urinary bladder and eyelashes.
Giant eggs
During the summer, an ostrich can lay up to 80 eggs a season, though 20–40 is more common.
An ostrich egg is the ultimate "family pack"—weighing about 1.5 kg, which is equivalent to 25–30 chicken eggs.
While it is the largest bird egg in the world, it is actually the smallest in relation to the mother's body size. If an ostrich laid eggs in the same proportion as a small songbird like a Blue Tit, you would need a wheelbarrow just to move one egg!
The chicks
Hatching is hard work. An ostrich chick has to kick with its legs and push with its neck to break through the 2 mm thick shell, as they lack the "egg tooth" common to other birds. The process takes about nine hours.
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In the wild, four-day-old chicks start picking up sand, eggshell pieces, and adult droppings from the ground. This provides essential fiber and bacteria to kickstart their digestion and build their immunity—a practical solution since nests are often far from food and water sources. Our chicks are hatched in Belgium and travel to us as tiny youngsters.
Adult birds
Ostriches grow incredibly fast. A chick weighing 900g at birth will reach 10 kg in just ten weeks. By one year, they weigh about 100 kg.
A typical adult weighs around 130 kg, but our Akseli is estimated to weigh nearly 200 kg.
Despite their South African origins, ostriches adapt well to the cold and enjoy the outdoors even in the Finnish winter.
Their feathers contain no oil, so they get wet easily. If they get soaked, they can catch a cold — one of the few illnesses that affects adult ostriches.
Ostriches can live up to 80 years.
Ostrich meat and materials
Ostrich meat is red and resembles high-quality beef. It is actually exceptionally healthy!
The meat contains less fat than chicken and more protein than almost any other meat.
It is low in cholesterol and is often suitable for people with allergies to beef, pork, or poultry.
Ostrich skin is also highly prized for its durability—in Europe, it is often valued more than crocodile leather. Their feathers, being oil-free, have a unique ability to attract dust and are used in everything from crafts to the electronics industry.
You can taste our ostrich meat at our restaurant, and we even sell ostrich feathers — including ready-made feather dusters!
