Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation

The New Rural Industries
A handbook for Farmers and Investors

The ostrich industry

Introduction

The ostrich industry in Australia has its origins in South Africa where ostriches have been farmed commercially since the 1860s. Before then the only way ostrich products could be harvested was to hunt and kill the birds.

Domestication of ostriches began in the 1860s to prevent the extinction of the birds from over-hunting. The South African ostrich industry, originally based on feathers, declined in the early 1900s but revived in the late 1960s thanks to an increasing interest in ostrich leather. The industry has grown slowly in South Africa since 1970. Since the late 1980s, it has grown rapidly in many countries outside South Africa including Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Europe and China.

The principal products of the current world ostrich industry are leather and meat. Other products include oil, feathers and eggs.

According to the best available knowledge, there are no religious, social, traditional or cultural limitations on the consumption of ostrich meat. Thus access to markets is limited (apart from tariffs and embargos) only by marketing skill, product quality and price, and consistency of supply. The leather is regarded as a high-quality, uniquely patterned product well known for its durability.

Both products are expensive in comparison with competing products. The industry's greatest challenges are to develop new markets as other countries begin commercial production and to maintain the high value of its products as the overall volume of production increases.

The ostrich industry has spread throughout Australia but its largest concentration is in central Victoria and southern New South Wales.

Markets and marketing issues

The ostrich industry in Australia, being fairly new, is (in 1997) moving from a being a speculative undertaking based on individual breeders to one based on commercial production.

In 1993 the industry saw that it needed processing facilities, quality assurance systems and market opportunities before it could produce in commercial quantities. As its marketing arm, the industry formed the Australian Ostrich Company (AOC) which, since 1993, has been actively developing processing facilities and initiating market development as well as establishing `gate to plate' quality assurance programs.

As the principal markets for Australian meat products are likely to be in Europe and Asia, the AOC is concentrating marketing efforts for meat and leather products in those areas. The USA is also a target for leather products.

Production is still small, but increasing. Estimates show that at least 5,000 birds will be processed in 1997 and up to 30,000 may be processed in 1998.

The current international price for prime ostrich fillet is AUD$10.00 to $15.00 per kg at farm gate. Prices for ostrich leather range from US$30.00 to $US$36.00 per square foot (US$330 to US$385 per square metre).

Production requirements

The natural home of ostriches is the arid regions of South Africa. The birds can be managed in most climates, but chicks are extremely susceptible to cold and humid environments are not ideal. Birds of all ages produce well on green pasture (particularly lucerne) provided that their ration is balanced by supplements. Birds can be managed with diets that are completely supplied (no grazing).

Breeding birds appear to be more productive when managed in hot, dry environments, so much of Australia is suitable. Other factors such as the cost of transporting birds and feed strongly influence the ideal locality for growing birds for processing. Hot dry environments which have access to water for irrigating pastures and are close to processing and feed-production areas could be considered ideal. Ostriches prefer flat land or gently rolling hills.

Breeds

Common, commercially recognised ostrich names are Blue Necks, Red Necks and African Blacks. The description Red Neck usually refers to the Masai ostrich from East Africa.

The description Blue Neck usually refers to Somali and South African ostriches and the African Blacks are a stable cross-breed of the South African and Barbary ostriches of North Africa.

Within each of these descriptions, physical characteristics can vary significantly between locations All ostrich breeds are available in Australia. Selection of breed or breeds depend on the production program a manger intends to follow. In principle, commercial production is likely to emulate other industries where pure breeds are maintained and interbred to make the best advantage of hybrid vigour in stock bred for processing.

Animal husbandry

Ostriches in Australia are usually managed intensively. They require specialised fencing along boundaries and the internal fence structures for birds over 12 weeks are different from those used for other stock.

Breeding birds especially appear to be more productive in climates similar to those of South Africa (hot and dry). Diet formulation is important and strongly affects performance Pasture is an ideal complement to prepared rations for growing stock and while birds are principally fed prepared rations, high-quality, short pastures (particularly lucerne) can reduce feed costs. It is accepted that an ideal feeding regime requires six different rations:
0 to 2 mths; 2 to 4 mths; 4 to 6 mths; 6 to 10 mths; more than 10 mths including maintenance; and a breeder ration.

Young birds are very susceptible to cold, stress and disease if they are not managed properly but they grow rapidly when well fed and managed.

The breeding season in Australia extends from about August to March. Bird are usually bred in pairs, trios (one male and two females) and sometimes in colonies (large groups of males and females).

To be economically efficient, hens in commercial production enterprises should produce 15 to 20 chicks that survive to yearling age annually. Birds for processing must reach a slaughter weight of 95 to 100 kg before 14 months of age.

The correct management of ostrich farms is not difficult to learn, but people should not enter the industry without an understanding of the minimum requirements for the welfare of ostriches and should ensure that they have access to an industry specialist before they purchase stock.

Diseases

All livestock can be susceptible to infectious, non infectious and metabolic (nutritional disease) and ostriches are no exception.

Disease control programs should include vaccination, internal and external parasite monitoring and control, feed quality controls, and routine bird assessments.

The method of transmission of disease between ostriches can vary. It is often introduced by human movement between groups of birds or by the introduction of infected stock or stock which are not infected but carry a disease. Domestic poultry are thought to be a common source of disease in ostriches, so it is prudent for ostrich enterprises to be well isolated from all other poultry.

Most diseases can be related to such farm management practices as feed and water supply; climatic and other stresses; hygiene; and incubator/brooder management.

Chicks from hatching to six weeks of age are most susceptible to bacterial infection of the digestive tract and when infected are likely to die. Management practice must reduce risks arising from hygiene, temperature control, and feed.

Birds of all ages will eat debris including pieces of metal, glass and coins. These objects can cause internal injury, poisoning or compaction. It is important that sites are kept clean. Small sticks and twigs cause similar problems for young chicks.

Inappropriate feeding can also cause problems. It is important that rations provide the recommended protein, energy, fibre and calcium (especially for breeding hens).

Processing

In general, the highest quality product is produced from birds more than nine months and less than 14 months old with a live weight of more than 95 kg. The quality of skin on over-fat birds is generally poor.

Birds destined for slaughter should travel to lairage in transports designed for ostriches and ideally spend at least one day in lairage yards before slaughter. They are processed in a similar manner to other livestock apart from the need to remove the feathers before skinning.

Most meat marketed internationally (South African) is frozen. Until recently, the meat was regarded by the South Africans as a secondary product and the processing, packaging and marketing were poor. A result of the AOC's meat marketing program, the meat is now regarded as a product of similar importance to skin.

Meat is usually traded in individual cuts, although there is interest in whole carcase from Asian traders. The AOC has also developed a range of smallgoods products that add significant value to the ostrich trim (a world first).

At a conference in South Africa in February 1997, a new ostrich-meat language and description of meat cuts was accepted as the international standard. Ostrich meat compares favourably with other commonly consumed meat and it has a relatively low fat and cholesterol content.

An ideal slaughter bird typically produces 1.3 to 1.5 square metres of leather. Skins are sold by the square foot and are graded as either first, second or third grade according to quality and damage. The international market for ostrich leather is still strong and product prices remain very high even in South Africa (the world's largest producer).

Ostrich oil has been largely overlooked by the South Africans. An Australian company has developed a range of ostrich-oil cosmetics which is slowly gaining market acceptance.

Economics of production

As technologies change and the industry increasingly relies on sale of commercial product for its profit, economies of scale will change. Current budgeting can reasonably determine guide costs of production, but estimates of income need to predict future prices in comparison with the current ones, taking into consideration the likely price movements as international production increases.

It is important that all gross-margin budgeting considers the farm-gate sale price for birds destined for processing and does not assume that the return to producers is a sum of the marketed value of the products.

The table below is a Guide Budget for a Self-Replacing Ostrich Flock of 50 breeding hens that produce an average of 15 live yearlings per hen. The enterprise will require approximately 50 hectares of land and an estimated total setup cost of $251,000.

A suggested minimum economic size for this type of enterprise is 30 breeding hens. New entrants to the industry may find the costs of establishing alternative ostrich enterprises more appealing, especially since, although most of Australia's current ostrich enterprises undertake all aspects of ostrich production and usually on one site, in future they are likely to specialise in one aspect of production or at least undertake each phase of production on separate sites.

The range of alternative enterprises includes: breeding enterprises that sell fertile eggs, chicks, yearlings or a combination of the three; enterprises that incubate eggs; enterprises that rear chicks to 8 to 12 weeks; and enterprises that grow chicks to slaughter age.

Key contacts

Key references

Tuckwell, C. D. 1997 The Ostrich Book Rural Industry Developments Pty Ltd and Primary Industries South Australia

Australian Ostrich Association Conference: Proceedings (1990 to 1997)

Hastings, Michael. Y. 1991 Ostrich Farming University of New England Printery

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