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By Michael Sunderland, ostrich producer, St. Paul, Alberta, Canada and Masoumeh Bejaei, ostrich specialist, Avian Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Canada
The ostrich is the largest living bird on earth with adults weighing about 105-135 kg. Ostrich farming started in 1838 in South Africa to produce feathers for the women’s fashion industry in Europe. At the turn of the century, hat feathers were abandoned as the automobile became increasingly popular. The feather industry also came under strong animal welfare pressures from politically influential families in several countries, who expressed concern about feather harvesting from several types of birds. It was not until 1946 when the South African ostrich industry was revived, with a shift from feather production to meat and leather production. After the 1970s commercial ostrich production spread to over 100 countries around the world. Ostrich products now include meat, hide and feathers, with ostrich oil being a developing commodity.Comparing to beef
Ostrich breeding stocks were very expensive during the early stages of the industry’s expansion due to limited supply of breeders, but currently, breeding stocks are more readily available and prices have declined significantly. In Canada, the industry is growing but the products remain niche market commodities due to limited processing capability, and limited attention to marketing/promotion, as well as the damages caused to the industry by the marketing of old breeders as meat stock in the early stages of industry growth. Since the main competitor of ostrich meat is beef, it is relevant to compare ostrich production mainly with beef production. Some production characteristics of ostrich make its operation more desirable than beef cattle production. For example, the incubation period of ostrich is 42 days (vs. 280 days gestation period of cattle). As a result, the shorter production period of ostriches means a faster investment return and higher production.
Ostrich breeding stocks were very expensive during the early stages of the industry’s expansion due to limited supply of breeders, but currently, breeding stocks are more readily available and prices have declined significantly. In Canada, the industry is growing but the products remain niche market commodities due to limited processing capability, and limited attention to marketing/promotion, as well as the damages caused to the industry by the marketing of old breeders as meat stock in the early stages of industry growth. Since the main competitor of ostrich meat is beef, it is relevant to compare ostrich production mainly with beef production. Some production characteristics of ostrich make its operation more desirable than beef cattle production. For example, the incubation period of ostrich is 42 days (vs. 280 days gestation period of cattle). As a result, the shorter production period of ostriches means a faster investment return and higher production.
Ostrich breeders also have a longer breeding period and a longer production period, hence less frequent and lower costs for breeding stock replacement. Cattle breeding programmes usually have one calving per cow per year while the number of yearlings per ostrich breeder is about 40. Gain to feed ratio of ostrich yearlings (0.28) is better than that of calves (intensive and extensive cattle production systems average 0.157 and 0.137, respectively). Therefore, the amount of meat, leather and fat produced by the off spring’s of an ostrich breeder per year in a successful operation is higher than that of cattle.
Not widely accepted
Ostrich meat is darker than beef because it has a higher pigment content containing more iron (104–153 mg Fe/g) than beef (69 mg Fe /g). Compared with beef, ostrich meat has lower fat, lower cholesterol, and less saturated fat and hence lower caloric content. Ostrich meat also has higher protein content and lower collagen content and hence a lower collagen to protein ratio, which is characteristic of juicy and tender meat. On the other hand, ostrich meat is less acidic than beef which results in a shorter shelf life, as well as a lower water-holding capacity (23.7%) than beef (30%). Prices per kg of ostrich products are higher than that of cattle industry products. Ostrich meat appeals to certain health conscious consumers in particular, leading to a growing but small niche market.
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| Egg production will substantially increase if ostriches are kept in pairs or trios. |
However, the quantity of supply and the quality of the products is not yet stable in the North American ostrich industry. Little production research in breeding, nutrition, and management has been conducted in North America to improve the efficiency, the quality of the products (processing and quality standards), or to develop new markets. Most North American consumers are not familiar with ostrich meat, and consider it an exotic meat.
Even those ostrich producers with good quality products still fi nd it tough to compete with the established beef markets and to obtain consumer recognition. Finding a market for the lower end (or lower quality) ostrich cuts has been a traditional problem for the industry. The industry has tried producing new products from the lower end cuts: but these products such as ostrich jerkies and sausages have not been widely accepted.
Dual digestion system
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| The common restriction to higher production is poor quality chick production. Survival rate is low. |
Environmental aspects of ostrich production such as land-use efficiency and greenhouse gas production could be a strong point in favour of ostrich producers. The land use efficiency of ostrich farming is better than the extensive cattle production system but not as good as that of intensive cattle production systems. Greenhouse gas production of cattle is much higher than that of the ostrich industry because ostriches are not ruminants.
Ostriches have dual digestion and can live 100% from grazing on range if necessary. However, commercial production in North America usually includes range rearing with supplemental rations, a mixture of monogastric digestion like a chicken or pig with added food fermentation in their lower intestine. Ostrich producers may have difficulty accessing information about the feed and nutritional requirements of ostrich, its housing and production management. Research is costly and the small, growing ostrich industry has limited financial resources for research. Without access to scientific research, the growth of the ostrich industry will be slow.
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Source: World Poultry, Vol. 28, No. 01, 2012
