NO emu eggs, maybe ever. HERE’S WHY…

[@alyseblend7622]

With birds that have imprinted on human it is almost impossible to “reverse”, even with hands off care. Bamboo will most likely never breed because, as they know, he sees his people as his mates. From what I know once they have imprinted it what it is, just like with hand raised parrots. He will always view his humans as his mates and cutting all contact with him would likely send him into a depressive state. I think they have chosen the best course of action by keeping bamboo and looking for another male for the females. Its what is best for Bamboo, the girls, and the farm.

[@leannepaxton5012]

I completely agree. There are so many people suggesting that when they build the emu’s new enclosure, that they should try to build it in such a way that they can go in and do their chores, while the emu’s are in another part of the enclosure, where they wouldn’t be able to see any humans at all possibly. I just think that with Bamboo, that seems to me to be the worst idea, purely because, it has always been obvious how much Bamboo loves Jake and the whole family really, but he enjoys the affection that he gets from them. Not only that, but I’m sure you remember when Bamboo hurt his neck? It was red raw like he had been rubbing it consistently against the wire that surrounds them. I read someone else’s comment, where they said that they believed that they had seen Bamboo always at the part of his fence, which is closest to the family’s back door. I watch every video, but I wouldn’t have a clue about the orientation of everything! But this person suggested that they felt Bamboo had been pushing and pushing up against that fence, trying to get at Jake and the family! If that was the case and that was how Bamboo got his neck injured, I would be so worried about how he would react if he wasn’t able to see them or have contact with them for a long period of time. Maybe he would be fine, but I really worry that Bamboo might go into a major depression and that really breaks my heart. I love all animals, bit I was never really all that interested in birds before. Now, I absolutely adore them! Bamboo is definitely my favourite animal of theirs. I especially loved all of the videos from when Bamboo was a chick, and just hanging out in the house with his human family!

[@petthequeenofmaddness8592]

I would try and make her a vest out of old sweaters and try and see if you can trick him

[@jeanettewilson3195]

Or maybe get a male to learn from

[@maggiesfarm7970]

I've seen this with other birds. They never get over it!

[@harveybarroga1047]

@@leannepaxton5012 that's a lot of words why man I can't read it all

[@Breathless2012]

Hello! Big bird experience here. I will say that my uncles farm had a similar issue with his male ostrich. No matter what my uncle tried, the ostrich never did out grow his attraction for humans. It’s just an unfortunate thing that can happen. I’d say try getting another male who hasn’t been hand raised by people, separating Bamboo completely from the others so he can have the human interaction he desires so he doesn’t grow depressed. Or you can always artificially inseminate if you want. So you can still get offspring from Bamboo in the end. I hope this helps! Good luck!

[@christianr5336]

The fact all the emus are so bonded with all of you is so special. I wouldn’t think too much of them needing to breed. You have incredible birds. I got chased by an evil emu as a kid (not like how they play with your kids) and it was so scary. Just enjoy the beautiful birds.

[@OCAVIARY]

There’s a number of ways you can solve this and different things to try. - Artificial Insemination is an option - there’s a video on my channel titled ‘Artificial Insemination in Birds - Andrea Cabibi Taxonyx | N&N ZR’ which hopefully will be useful for you to get some more information on this as an option. - A new Male - In my past experience breeding poultry and a lot more now with small birds. Sometimes competition can stimulate a change and get the male doing his job. So another male would be an absolute must in my opinion, both to breed with Cashew straight, and to hopefully bring bamboo on to a point he could be bred with peekaboo. - A Proven Pair - if you could get a proven pair of emus this could very much encourage cashew and peakaboo to breed (as well as competition for bamboo) as the pair would breed within ear shot and possibly sight of the others. You find with birds that breed in colonies or groups, that they will breed more successfully with multiple pairs close by rather than a single pair. - New enclosure - for your new enclosure idea, I’d go for a long shed/barn personally and have multiple enclosures attached off it. Or a path of multiple sheds across the front of the enclosures. So you can enter a shed outside the fence to feed and water them, whilst being able to lock them outside whilst you do it so do not interact as closely as you would normally. It’s clear that you love all your animals and enjoy the interaction so I don’t think that is the main problem here, more with bamboos imprint and if disturbances could affect the females Feel free to drop me a message on Instagram or Facebook about it and I’ll do my best to guide you and help come up with possible solutions and ways forward

[@badgerdax1763]

I haven't finished the video yet but it's really common in ostrich and emu farms for their birds to bond to humans instead of their companions, often resulting in some of the hardest to breed birds on the market. With Bamboo being reared solo in your house back in the early days you really solidified that he is in fact a person

[@jillianstolling2602]

I was afraid he had misidentified his species way back when he was injured on the fence. The part of the fence he was running himself against he could see your house. If I remember correctly you believed it was due to stress from the females wanting to breed with him. Something along the lines of 80% of males raised by the wrong species will misidentify their own species when it comes to mating. I was hoping this wouldn't be the case since you hatched the girls fairly close to him but it seems that wasn't the case. I haven't seen a study on how to correct this behavior or I would link it for you but this is a well documented occurrence so there might be something out there about it. The only way I've ever fixed this issue is with a highly aggressive female that insists on mating but this often resulted in hen pecking like injuries to the male. On a side note, females will only misidentify 20-40% of the time when raised with the wrong species and as you can imagine, this can be corrected a lot easier with females. Fingers crossed for you guys. Maybe getting that new male for the other girl will help as he can see proper behavior displayed.

[@funkyfreakyandfabulous9743]

So if I ever get a pet emu I should get a boi. Got it.

[@devenlamar3900]

Separate them for a while before breeding season. And give minimal care during that time. He should start calling for the girls then.

[@brittletip8191]

I used to do this with livestock that were reluctant to breed, as soon as you reintroduced them with the opposite sex they would mate to assert territory and dominant male behaviour.

[@susans9617]

Have you ever considered talking to a zoo that has emus? or larger emu breeders? Bamboo certainly is imprinted on 'hoomans' Hoping a solution of some kind can be found! Love watching the emus, never gets old. Good luck

[@Poko0Chan]

mh a young emu male who is one to many on a farm or in a zoo could be cool- for them

[@susans9617]

I was thinking how 'they' deal/ dealt with breeding problems. They might have some advice or insight into human- emu issues.

[@untipo.]

@@susans9617 this emu was betrayed by his humans 😅 he was treated as part of the family for his all life and now he doesn't know how to live with other emus. He feels the cage like a prison

[@JareRL]

@@untipo. Damn you know how an animal is feeling through a bunch of pixels and only 99.99% of it's life on camera?

[@untipo.]

@@JareRL i watched all the videos about this emu, he recognises humans as their similar

[@katesteinfort9709]

It is astonishing that in Australia we are not allow to keep native wild life as pets, but in America they can keep them and breed them. It is sad to see a bird that normally runs wild for great distances in the outback restricted.

[@alliekatt1185]

I would TOTALLY take a week off from work to come provide manual labor at the farm! Building stuff, training with Joey, chores, hanging out with the kids… BEST WEEK EVER!!

[@SiothaVest]

If in tn, you can help me with our 20 peacocks

[@jessicamermaid2438]

I am not an emu expert and cannot offer any advice. However, I am an animal lover and deeply touched by the special bond you guys have with Bamboo. The thought of trying to sever that bond is heartbreaking. I doubt that is the route you would try and hope I'm right. He does truly seem happy. --Jessica from Florida 🌞

[@annastasiawheeler4305]

My husband, son and I have been watching your growing family for about 3 years now, since our son was 3. He has loved watching the boys grow up. He asked me for the longest time when we could invite your boys over to play. It took him starting school to realize just how far away from us your family is. We live in WA. He loves watching the interaction between the boys and the birds. He says "just give the emus time and love. Time to play before they grow up." I agree with Anthony: give them time to play and give them love. When they're ready, they'll figure things out. Let them enjoy life as it comes. He says he already has an "Izzy" (his 2 year old cousin, Izabella) in his life, but you enjoy your new Izzy.

[@lexicassels6940]

I fell like bamboo is imprinted on humans and thinking they are his mates

[@nenaelliott8058]

I don't think it's because Bamboo doesn't know what to do. He does... But he's not attracted to other emus. There is a possibility that he'll outgrow this but not as long as you continue to give him cuddles and love on him. I don't blame you. It's sweet to have an animal that loves you so unconditionally... It would be a difficult decision for me.

[@Athithan_2000]

This is true.

[@DarkDraega]

In all honesty, once a bird has imprinted it is extremely difficult to reverse and likely next to impossible if at all... Denying him any and all affection and attention by humans and expecting him to change is a very unlikely scenario that will more than likely ultimately result in the bird feeling depressed from feeling ostracized from his human flock. It is VERY obvious that he has thoroughly imprinted on humans and sees himself as a human and therefore is “attracted” to humans and wants to mate with them…thus all the courtship behavior he flaunts at them. I wouldn’t try to force him to change as this could be detrimental to his health. Birds can and do die of depression. I think it would be best if they just got another male emu that knows what he’s doing and keep Bamboo the sweet loving happy Emu that he is now. 😊

[@karlaerickson293]

@@DarkDraega feeling ostrich-cized.

[@Mistfall254]

@@karlaerickson293 facepalm

[@serakayle7903]

@@Mistfall254 I think you meant *Slow clap*

[@jolenechase4210]

As far as a new area for the emus, what would you think of a central barn with 3 circular or oval pens coming off the sides and back. In the barn have a large stall for each pen for the emus to get in for feeding and bedding. Doors to each stall and doors from the barn to each pen so you can shut the emus out and clean all three stalls at the same time. You can have a pen for each of the girls and the third for babies or bamboo if needed to be separated from the girls.

[@SmossyYT]

Seeing the kiddos breath hard shows how you have raised them. Most kids these days are sheltered and typically dont ever push themselves to that feeling. The feeling where you take your new workout buddy and he finally feels what its like to push your own body and goes "i feel like im dieing" lol no man thats what it feels like to actually feel alive. Were capable of so much, great family you got.

[@sarahdenkins3431]

I'm so envious of you guys! You're living the life that I would love to live! I know it's a lot of work, but so rewarding! Thank you so much for your videos.

[@_Fizel_]

One solution for the feeding/watering issue in the bigger area is an area where you can access it from the outside but not have to go in. Friend has a barn where he can do that because his bull is aggressive when anyone goes in (really friendly through barriers though, he loves scratches).

[@jeremyhughes9358]

A great zoo to talk to about the aviary is the San Antonio zoo, I currently work there and I believe we can help with any questions or concerns about a large aviary as we have I believe 3 and 1 being a pretty big one for our cranes and other Aquatic loving birds.

[@SaraAson]

I've heard this is a common problem with bigger birds like this (Emus and Ostriches) that for some reason they'll often decide that humans are more attractive than their own species. It's very weird and I don't know enough to be any help in solving it personally but I hope you can get something figured out

[@puirYorick]

I'm guessing it's at least partly his preference to mate with the most dominant individual in their territory. Since the hoomans are clearly in charge of food provisions in their lives, they appear to be the best mating candidates from Bamboo's point of view. Ratites (ostrich, emu, rhea, kiwi & cassowary) do have some of the most odd reproductive and parenting habits among bird species though.

[@leannepaxton5012]

@@YujiUedaFan , that’s so sad.

[@Gee5425]

It's called imprinting, and it's common in a variety of different animals, but especially common within bird species. Ducks are probably the best way to describe it. You see little ducklings following their mom, and doing everything their mom does, they've imprinted on her, and she will teach them about their environment and what appropriate duck behavior is. If the momma duck were to die the ducklings would imprint on the next thing they saw, be it person, shoe, or a piece of paper flying by, and they tend to not pay attention to their own species anymore for guidance. Birds are bad about it, we raised exotic birds growing up, and we had a cockatoo, parrot, and peacock imprint on my parents.

[@puirYorick]

@@Gee5425 Falconers with imprinted birds have to use a special mating hat to gather genetic material from their male birds to use in fertilizing the females. Ratites like the emu would require some much more challenging method perhaps closer to that used on a bull or horse stud farm. Yikes!

[@helenmorgan4003]

May be the area is actually too small to encourage breading, there are some species that limit their breading to the space available. Emus will often have large clutches of 12-20 chicks and Bambo might realise there isn't enough room for them all. Best of luck working things our from down under the home of the emu.

[@Blue_Anzu]

I doubt that's the issue, since Bamboo and Cashew are both trying to breed, just not with each other

[@jbthevampire1183]

this may be one of the issues most of the birds species decide to breed according to the conditions if bird feel like they don't have enough space food or water or the correct weather conditions they don't breed I mean I've sean such behaviours in parrorts like African lovebirds I'm a lovebird breeder so I've seen this stuff a lot just give them enough space and other stuff and they start breeding

[@darlouthia5153]

Loved the multiple camera angles ! Maybe if Bamboo sees another emu in action he’ll figure it out.

[@twolfpack0012]

Exactly! Like what some zoos did with the pandas

[@antoniomiller3961]

That's what I was thinking. maybe another male around he for competition

[@alittlegnomish1539]

We actually had a rooster with a similar issue. He was raised by himself and then introduced to other chickens when he was an adolescent. For a good while he only saw humans as a potential mate, but after being around the other chickens for a while, he saw them as females too. He still has somewhat of an attachment to people but he now has his ladies too. It may work differently with birds that have a single mate but I thought it may give some encouragement for progress in the future with Bamboo. Good luck

[@wendyhenschel.]

Who knows. Maybe if you find another male and it breeds Cashew and Bamboo sees it happening he may try it out with Peekaboo. He may just be an awkward/confused male. Some males are slow to figure out the right thing. Good luck

[@briancaleb6503]

Maybe Bamboo would prefer Peekaboo over Cashew to.

[@wendyhenschel.]

@@briancaleb6503 anything is possible

[@vgil1278]

Human males are sometimes clueless, too.😼

[@louisek4657]

I’m wondering if the new enclosure could be designed more to minimise interaction with the emus even when doing chores. Maybe access the bed, food, water, etc via a way that you can close them off from. In my mind in looks like a shelter that forms part of the enclosure boundary and you can access from the back, close the front and do the jobs from there because the food/water containers straddle the front… if that makes sense! I do feel that less human interaction, perhaps total isolation for a short time, is your best bet. Another male feels like it could get really complicated.

[@AK-qk2mt]

Yeah that was what I was thinking. Minimum interaction and maybe something will happen. It’s worth a try.

[@scottlepak7068]

I agree that less interaction would probably be the best bet to possibly get Bamboo breeding, but getting another male wouldn't be too complicated. Since females are dominant when it comes to emus, it's actually easier to have multiple males per female, rather that the other way around. As we have already seen, right now they have two females and only one male, and they have to keep Cashew and Peekaboo separate to avoid fighting. However, I have read that you can keep two males with one female relatively peacefully. In that scenario, the female will usually breed with the dominant male first, and then after leaving him with a clutch of eggs, she may then breed and have a second clutch with the other male. Plus, since they already have to keep the females separate, it makes sense to have at least one more male anyway so that both females can have a companion.

[@liamosborne3435]

I would say this would work, only because my rooster 🐓 was a bit too liking to people when raised alone. Put him with the flock and over time he doesn't bother me as much as he doesn't see me as often. He's even mating with the hens now!

[@lovinmzre]

If you bring in a second male who is experienced, bamboo may then get a sense of how he's supposed to do it by seeing the other male do it

[@whitehouseonthehill]

I agree

[@alexbinder3479]

I agree to

[@jeanstevens2305]

I don't know if you can find a male emu at stud, like you can find a male pure bred dog to mate with your female dog, but that would be great. Maybe contact another emu farmer and offer to exchange one or two baby emus for the "service" of their male emu? It would enlarge the gene pool of both flocks.

[@malloryoates8580]

Blue: shows off his amazing peacock feathers Bell: disinterested in her mate and just continues to drink the water 😂😂

[@whitehouseonthehill]

😂

[@kiwilala2037]

They need more room to roam around.🦚

[@ritamccartt-kordon283]

@@kiwilala2037 Can't wait to see them in the Aviary!

[@kiwilala2037]

@@ritamccartt-kordon283 Totally agree I think they will be happier.

[@MillieHehe]

Bamboo is like my rooster, but I gave him less attention so he walked more with his hens. First he tried to mate with a shoe... XD hehe

[@annadelacruz1483]

Yes, I love Bamboo! Those times when he was growing up in your home, were the sweetest and I watched in awe. I remember people saying that he would be mean and aggressive. I didn't see that in him. Love is what you instilled in him. Yes, it may have been a slight overdo, but he loves you all so very much. I am sure you can come up with a solution. You already have different ideas. He's so very incredible, but you know that I love him. I love you all for being the family you are. You truly look for ways to help the animals, not hurt them. I know in all of your hearts you love Bamboo, along with each and every animal. It shows. You know how much I love Bamboo. Please take care and give Bamboo a big kiss and hug for me. It's Anna Banana love!

[@AkumakoCross]

I've heard that ostrich farmers have a similar problem with their birds sometimes being more interested in humans than other ostriches. I don't know if the root cause is the same, but it is a rather funny - if inconvenient - occurrence.

[@StaitlyNatters]

For breeding you really need to have more males than females. Unlike most egg layers, it’s the male who tends the nest, and raises the young. the female will mate with several males lay the eggs and move on, leaving the male to do the rearing. Yes a very modern relationship, that’s been happening for centuries on the plains all over Australia. Just because the female is sitting doesn’t mean she’s receptive to mating. The other thing to consider is the yard environment. They really need a more open grassland space to build their ground nests. As ‘tame’ as they are, they do not breed like chickens in a nest box. A clutch can consist of a dozen eggs and the father is on high alert and needs to be able to have a 360 view at all times. He also needs to feel comfortable with plenty of space to be able to turn the eggs and regulate the nest temperature. The fighting you were describing is common to establish a hierarchy, and breeding rituals. The sad thing about seeing emus in other countries is the lack of knowledge of their true wild nature and follow the misconception that they are the same as all other birds, and are treated as such.

[@OBugzzO]

I really appreciate how you mark each song out by chapters! I quite enjoy alot of the music you have so its nice, many creators don't link any of their music at all. So thank you much appreciated :)

[@RabidicusNollis]

Oh gosh, yeah, human imprinting in birds always sucks to deal with when it comes to breeding. Birds have this weird thing wherein they imprint on their caregivers in their developing years, and it forms the basis of their own self identity, and later, what to look for in a mate. Normally, a bird raised by bird parents has no issue with this. Because he was raised only with people, he's probably never going to breed with an emu, because in his brain, he sees himself as a person. It's a very common thing with hand reared birds. It's why falconers need a special sperm collecting helmet for their males to artificially inseminate females, and why parrot breeding in captivity is so difficult. Like, the two females you have view bamboo as a potential mate because they were I presume allowed to raise up to adolescents by emu parents, so when you took ownership they had a strong identity of themselves as emu, but were young enough to acclimate and see people as friendly.* Bamboo just sees himself as a funky human and the other emu as friends but not mate potential. I'm not a professional by any means(my experience is with reptiles) but I've never heard of imprinting being reversible. *EDIT: I remembered wrong, I know now they raised all three from eggs. New guess is the two blondies had each other AND bamboo's presence as a playmate and older bird to cement their identity as emu vs bamboo who only knew human companionship in his early days.

[@melissajarvis4829]

Thanks for your info. I didn't know that about falcons. Btw, they hatched and raised all three. Bamboo is several months older than the girls because he was the only one from his batch to hatch. Edit: Commented before op edited their's. Plus, fixed some egregious auto - incorrect and tired brain mistakes.

[@madisontapp5623]

The females were also hatched out on their homestead, not too long after Bamboo. The most likely reason that it's different for them is because they grew up with each other and Bamboo. None of the WHotH emus we're raised by their emu parents.

[@RabidicusNollis]

Another thing to consider: getting two males, if bamboo continues to not breed. Emu are monogamous. Females will fight if they don't have enough mates available. Males are more timid, afaik. Most wild Flocks of emu tend to be a solid 50/50 split between genders, and they pair bond for life I believe. Cashew and peekaboo would probably calm down and stop murdering each other if they both had an established mate, since they don't compete like rhea or ostriches do for breeding rights. I COULD be wrong, definitely look into emu husbandry from established breeders, this is just what I've heard.

[@americanjedi5952]

Wow! That's a disadvantage to being an orphaned bird that I wouldn't have thought of.

[@RabidicusNollis]

@@madisontapp5623 ahhh, right you are. I actually subscribed right when they hatched out bamboo, I forgot they'd also hatched the two blondies. But I agree with you, it's probably because those two had both each other AND bamboo, as an older bird, to socialize with so they didn't develop a human imprint.

[@mistaken_stranger8343]

Guess part of the problem is when an animal is hand raised, it will never be truly wild and may fail to exhibit some of those wild traits. Through no fault of your own, he probably sees himself as more of a human than an emu. Not so sure about emus but with roosters, when an old male won't breed, if he can hear or see another male through a fence, the older roosters would be more inclined to breed with the hens more. Something to do with territorial and wanting to pass on his generics before the other male can. Just a suggestion. Hope this was somewhat useful.

[@leannepaxton5012]

Jake, Bamboo is, by far, my favourite animal of yours! He is just such an awesome bird. Of course it’s disappointing that he won’t breed with either of the twins. However, as disappointing as that is, if he was my bird, I still wouldn’t want to change a thing about his upbringing! All that time when he was a baby chick and he was inside with you all, running around in his little sock diaper! Lol Then there is the snuggling in the evenings, on the sofa, watching tv! All of the cuddles! And now, because Bamboo has that bond with you guys, you can still give him hugs and cuddles when you go in there to do your chores. If it was me, and Bamboo was my bird, I wouldn’t change any of that for the world! Not even for a fertilised egg, that would give you another baby chick! I love all of those videos from when Bamboo was a chick. Now that I am thinking about them, as soon as I have caught up on everything I have missed the last week or so, due to no Internet in our area at all! Anyway, my humble opinion is that I would worry that Bamboo would go into a major depression if all of a sudden, he wasn’t getting any human interaction. I mean, for all we know, poor Bamboo could even be infertile! I hope he isn’t of course! I think the idea of putting Bamboo in with a new male and one of the females, so that Bamboo could see him breed with Cashew and maybe that will start up his interest in the girls! It’s got to be worth a try at least. I wonder if there is such a thing as artificially inseminating an emu?! I mean, by collecting some of Bamboo’s sperm and using it with either of the girls! I don’t have a clue if that is even possible in any breed of bird. But I do know that they do it for sharks, I watched a documentary about it, and I have also seen some programs where they do it for horses and I think maybe for elephants, but I’m not positive about that one!

[@jennarider6285]

Just a thought Try to get the female to lay down and then sit by her so bamboo will be near her when he goes down and maybe try to position him closer to her. Hopefully he will learn what you want him to do by leading him on what he is supposed to do and where. Also I do think he has imprinted on humans more than emus so I do think that another male might be your best option so that the male will teach bamboo what to do. Also bamboo might be getting confused when you get low to the ground and snuggle on him, he might think you are courting him or trying to mate with him. You can also try to not interact with them very much to incourage him to find companionship in the females rather than you. By the way I always loved how bonded you are with the emus and all the interaction that you do with them. Eventually I hope he figures it out because I love bamboo and want there to be little bamboos running around.

[@taniaburton7559]

Bamboo printed on you. You are his only ❤️

[@KariganRider]

I know with parrots that they can either bond with humans or with birds, but never with both. I would bet it's the same with emus.

[@pondripple]

I think there's a fair a trade off between tameness and breedability with Bamboo. It's probably best that you're thinking about replacing him with another male for your breeding project. He still makes a great pet, and the fact that you have a preference for one of your girls means that you don't have to worry about anyone being the odd one out when you move them to a larger area. If he moves out of this phase and does his job, great, but if not I don't see it as a bad thing since you have a lot of options to continue your plans either way.

[@woleesheet]

I love Bamboo. However Blue is the real reason I started watching. To see him full grown(Blue) and doing his mating display was the best. Thank you for doing this.

[@KekPafrany]

Bamboo won't change, as he is imprinted on you. And if you limit your connection with him, he would suffer because he would be lonely. The girls have easier time since they saw Bamboo early as a companion.

[@BornAgainFarmGirl]

I think Bamboo will figure it out if you take a more hands off approach during the mailing season.

[@madam_omgiiiii5698]

Wow i am surprised that you have baby boy again that's amazing. What a happy family.

[@kellyfoster6983]

I had a feeling Bamboo might have been "confused" about his species lol

[@darrylrodriguez1940]

Put shade cloth around the entire fence height all around and avoid all contact, place automatic waterers and feeders, leave the coop dirty, that means three weeks of no contact, minimum. That worked for me when we had Emu's.

[@alvinsbees518]

Can't help but notice Bamboos attraction to hats and clothes. It might be interesting to see what would happen if the girls were wearing your clothes and hats.

[@bevadams991]

May be a strange thiught, but could you put a small handkerchief next to your body for a couple of days and then put it on your choice of females for breeding to see if your scent might attract Bamboo to her. I have seen you attach a Go Pro to the emus before and a small piece of cloth would be very lightweight,. Just a thought. Love your family a d all of your videos!

[@craigandsnowwadam4511]

Does a Emu have a whoo whoo? ,..like grab ahold of it ,..w/a baggie,..collect it then ,…stick it where it needs to go ,..up another VENT. Seriously,..it’s not brain 🧠 surgery

[@Sparklesandstonescrafts]

Try feeding hemp seed maybe... I know it works in parrots so it's a possibility it would work on emus

[@ninjadogs3389]

If you didn't live on the other side of the country I know someone that had a trio of emu's but the 2 females died leaving the male all alone, he is a white emu. But I also am not sure if the owner is sure what they want to do as of yet, I think he is leaning towards not getting any more emus and either just keep the male by its self, or sell the male to try and recoup a bit from the losses.

[@eileenjurek6898]

Sounds like Bamboo is a little confused there. Blue is looking pretty awesome!

[@webbfarmingandthings]

you should try a egg incubator called Manna Pro Harris Farms Nurture Right Incubator it works great and i have had all but one or two eggs not hatch while using this incubator

[@colemansheep]

We had this happen with some turkeys. They hatched way late and we raised them in the house. Those Toms had no idea we weren’t their species. The girls could hardly lay out on the lawn without risking “funny business” with them. We did get some breeding by standing next to the hens, but turkeys I think are simpler birds than emus.

[@ericolsen67vw]

You're going to have to show him what's up. Lead by example. Flap your wings, and show the brother bird how to love! 💕

[@vgil1278]

Be sure to record that.

[@mochibear8933]

Bamboo literally ❤️'s you!

[@rengoku2628]

This would be my dream future, it’s so peaceful and gorgeous. I hope to take care of these beautiful animals it would be incredible if i would be able to do this one day

[@MadCapybara]

Raw experience! Priceless!

[@webbfarmingandthings]

it cant fit emu eggs but it is a very good incubator and i think you should try it especially with the peacocks and mandarin ducks and you will get a lot more peachicks, chicks and ducklings.

[@pamspray5254]

With my knowledge of breeding programs in zoos and the like, I can safely say that animals that have imprinted on humans tend to have a harder time figuring out breeding. Having another male could be very useful for Bamboo, actually. Fun fact about some social animals: Younger adults may actually watch the breeding behavior of more experienced adults. This has been documented with certain birds of paradise in performing their mating rituals as well as with mammals like wolves. Young adult wolves will actually stick with their parents for a year or two to learn the basics of survival and raising a family. They're very family-oriented, and I find it really sweet that they hang around a while longer to help mom and dad out with their baby siblings. Also, did NOT expect that Sirius XM sponsership! I'm a big fan of the Garth Channel and the Siriusly Sinatra channel. It's great for cross-country road trips since there's no question of what station has the type of music I want to listen to.

[@eikeegi5887]

I had the same problem with my goose, I just ignored him for a while and now he does what he has to do.

[@ahsanhabibprince2838]

Came here after a while, like a couple of years. I thought the aviary is done by now and the emus are breeding. And I was expecting to see baby emus lol. But things don't happen as expected. I'm so sorry to see the emus not breeding. I guess with the new male, things will work out. And who knows you might have two breeding pairs. And hope that the aviary will soon be done. Best of luck.

[@Cola82]

Emus are so cool. Watching them run around makes me wish Moa hadn’t gone extinct. How incredible would it be to see them towering over that fence?

[@uzmanmohammed9432]

Maybe grewing up with people, Bamboo also wants Hooman babies. :)

[@claireisacamel]

I don’t blame bamboo - I don’t think he’s gonna find a lady so impressed with his sock skills like y’all are!

[@timothygreer188]

When we raised emu we had 2 males for every female. Sounds weird but the hens laid more and the males competed to breed. There were 3 nest sites as she laid in 1 a male would sit and then she would lay in the 2nd one the other would sit. Then we'd collect the eggs and rotate a 2nd female in for another round. If Bamboo won't breed he could just be the companion for the single hen

[@Nayomee1213]

I see a lot of people mentioning distancing yourselves from the emus, to have less interactions,etc...but I don't see how that would be good for your family, when you all interact with them, run with them, and want them to be friendly with you and your children. I think you all are on the right path, finding another male for breeding & "mate" purposes, but still doing what yall are doing, having relationships with all your animals! I knew someone who had emus, but didn't build a relationship with them. They were always trying to attack whenever she went in to clean out their pens/feed them. I actually didn't like emus bc of them, until I watched you all raise Bamboo, and the girls! 💖 Thank you for sharing your lives with us!

[@arreis2011]

If they want babies from Bamboo, it's the only solution. And bringing another male in when they don't know what they're getting in it's personality may not be the best solution. You want them to be friendly with, but not attached to, people.

[@Nayomee1213]

@@arreis2011 I can understand that, but they did say in the video, that distancing themselves from Bamboo was not something they want to do. Which was why they were talking about bringing in another male, and specifically one who is friendly and good with people/kids. I guess basically saying they're not willing to lose their bond with Bamboo JUST to use him in breeding. Which I don't blame them. He's such a sweetheart!

[@arreis2011]

@@Nayomee1213 I don't blame them either, truly. Just can't blame Bamboo for it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@Nayomee1213]

@@arreis2011 lol yeah, Bamboo might be a wee bit cornfused! 😂

[@vgil1278]

@@Nayomee1213 and to purposely break his heart, how could anyone who loved their pet? He is how he was created. Use someone else for breeding.

[@katarinap3115]

Hey! I work with horses, and sometimes when a stallion refuses to mate we rub dirt on the female to ‘mask‘ their scent. You could perhaps try that method or even rubbing some of your clothing onto the females.

[@marys.4273]

Blue's show was gorgeous! Also I hope you can work out the breeding situation.

[@cindysworld6570]

I assumed my emu was male after the 4th year of no eggs. On the seventh year she suddenly started laying eggs although the first one she laid was malformed and calcified. After that she has had no problems and lays 15-20 eggs every year.

[@davidhart8575]

Let me just start by saying I really like your videos. I raised emus for years and hatched out a lot of eggs. I had a traveling emu show and traveled all over the United States with five emus, four males and one female. I'm going to mention some things that you may already know, one is emus have to be 18 months old at least before they can breed. They will usually start around November. And they will lay one egg every 3 days, I don't think the emu is bonded with you so much that it won't breed, I never had a problem with that and mine were with me all the time. So I think first I would make sure that you have both sexes, the females will make a drumming noise. The males will make a growling noise almost like a tiger. Another thing that it might be if you have the male and he is just reaching 18 month mark he could have hatched out late and not be ready until next year. Good luck with your breeding program

[@chamqual6480]

Bamboo is older than the females, and he said they were about 3 years old, if I heard correctly in the videos.

[@davidhart8575]

@@chamqual6480 oh, I didn't know how old they were going, but maybe next year they will get some eggs

[@Mammafly]

I think getting another male would help show your male how things are supposed to be done. Worked for my chickens. I had a rooster that didn’t know he was one until we babysat another rooster.

[@dawnwatkins6554]

I think the emus are among the clowns of the bird world. It's so much fun to watch the way they twist and turn as they run around. So funny.

[@mwoodward1240]

I heard that ostriches often become too attached to their human caregivers and lose their attraction to other ostriches, too. I guess emus are in the same vein.

[@raulcabral8661]

maybe you could get movies!!! that show the deed being done!

[@Areyousayingidontknowmyname]

HAHA yea popped in my head

[@terrireddish2522]

Maybe when you redesign the emu area build a large shelter in middle then divide the four corners for each pen then have circular runs so they can run round like you would love to, it's just a thought I thought you might like ♥️

[@marywysocki6641]

If you want to watch another channel, look at IAM A SURVIVOR,they are working with a few ostriches and they are cousins to the emu

[@kingak2940]

I am so happy that you are apploading vedioes quickly

[@merlin_XY]

you could add fence into the corners to trim the corners off to make the pen more round so they don't want to hand in the corners.

[@Athithan_2000]

Couples Therapy? For Bamboo and Mates Or what if he doesn’t want to breed with them because in Bamboo’s eyes their extremely ugly?

[@michaelsduckfarm3564]

I have some a qustion. I have a still air incubator from tractor supply. Wondering how to get the best results. My emu eggs will be here this weekend

[@whitehouseonthehill]

Look up how to incubate emu eggs, there are some blogs about how to control the humidity. If you don’t have an egg turner, you will have to turn the eggs 3-5 times each day.

[@heatherlynnjohannesen9845]

Fancy Farms Florida has emus and ships hatching eggs as well.

[@baileywicklund]

Use an automatic watering system! Check out Camp Kenan!! He has some pretty cool ideas for his reptiles that might help lessen human contact!

[@foxvalleyfarmandhopyard]

We are just shy of 4 weeks till we receive our first Emus. Thx to your info for getting us excited 🤗

[@valmacoffey-mcclean6910]

Just curious, being an Australian, what is the attraction Americans have with the Australian Emu.

[@patelsameer529]

Maybe just try leaving them alone for some time, no visits

[@londonoakes5527]

You could put in fake eggs

[@charansathya8352]

Try it once we had successfully done breeding pair when this problem aroused in our farm.

[@jordandewick1878]

May I add, great name, we have a Labrador called Pico and we call her peekaboo

[@Daniellegarrow]

Thinking round out the corners. If you take corners away it will seems like it's a round area instead of sharp corners.

[@talonfroesse618]

I love u guys emu vids!! literally the best thing ever. I'm actually considering getting an emu egg to hatch out and was wondering what and where do you get your feed for the emus?

[@craigkirby9202]

We had a single pet emu that just did his own thing. He could roam off the farm at will because sheep fences mean little to an emu. They just freak out at the fence for a bit, then find themselves on the other side. He was definitely bonded to humans in a big way but he once disappeared for... maybe 3 months. I doubt it was lost, I think he was just raising some young. So don't give up on him. Also as a side note Emus really don't like dirty water. Run a hose near your emus to see what I mean. They will drink dirty water, but they really don't like it. They also like being hosed down, or sitting in a pond, and they can swim! Take them to the pond one day for some cool video footage. If they are a bit hesitant, once they walk in, throw buckets of water over them and watch how happy they get. Test it in their little enclosure.

[@s.a.morris8625]

...Emu Pen Corners... maybe use the netting on the fence to round the corners?

[@DragonfireSL]

Oh wow! You finally caught blue doing a display! That’s so awesome! I know with some birds of paradise (I know peacocks aren’t birds of paradise) but any bird that has vibrant colours for display like that (specifically your golden pheasants) tend to stay in the shade to preserve and protect their feathers from the sun, so I would suggest to have a few large tarps for the males to hide under in the aviary. I’m not 100% sure though so you may want to fact check this.

[@malloryoates8580]

The peacocks at the Pittsburgh zoo just walk around the zoo showing off their feathers 😂😂😂 I love their mating rituals.

[@absi115]

***He supposed to do that with her not with us 🤣🤣🤣🤣 ❤️❤️❤️ I love you bamboo

[@thechaosinstigator9924]

When are the cows coming back on the farm?

[@whitehouseonthehill]

Very soon. Update later this month.

[@shika1983dk]

Don’t know if it is worth talking to Ben at the urban rescue ranch. He rescued some emu’s from a farm which breeds them and they had white emu’s on the video he filmed (as well as others colours) . Downside is I’m uncertain if they are tame or not but just something to consider.

[@miah5561]

I thought they were Rheas?

[@TheBirdandWilderShow]

I LOVE bamboo

[@Msbumblebeeification]

I’m new to your channel. And I love your videos. I have often wondered what guided your choices on birds. Why did you guys choose to raise Emus? Thank you for your videos! 💛

[@Flapjack20]

What equipment did you use to hatch the emus im going to get some soon and i cant find a heat lamp

[@nicoleisabelle3012]

Please make the new enclosure much much bigger and do some research about how much space they need to not only exist but to thrive.

[@weinerman09]

From my expierence with birds this happens when they are hand raised, one of the best things that could be done would be to integrade the male in with a large number of other emus to put social pressure on him to "fit in" without doing that you have to use reinforcement, right now he is trained with positive reinforcement to do what he is doing socially. One other thing people do not understand about birds is that stroking there backs is sexual to them, if you have a bird that lets you do that you are asking for weird sexual outcomes do not stroke a birds back like it's a mammal it's not the same. Bamboo needs to leave the nest for the birds mental health, he will never forget you or the good times you have shared but he doesn't have an understanding of why he exists/his true purpose in life. It's in your DNA to be great, Bamboo just doesn't know his potetial.