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Things began to change in 1986, however, when the UN sanctions against South Africa, its apartheid domestic politics and its imperial attitude towards Namibia spurred the creation of the first ostrich farms in the United States to supply the required skins for Texan cowboy boots. Ostriches are now farmed in several countries over and above South Africa: Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Israel, the United States, and Australia, Brazil. They can also easily be bred in European climates. In Italy there are about 700 farms with a total of 15,000 birds; moreover farms have been set up in France, Spain and Great Britain as well.
Ostriches have not been domesticated. They are wild animals in captivity and their natural characteristics are only slightly mitigated. They usually run away very quickly to avoid confrontation, but if
They are driven to the wall and are injured, they can attack. And when they attack, they give kicks with the two very strong toes of one foot, which can cause lethal injuries. Men and horses have been killed during such assaults. Sometimes ostriches emit a shrill hiss to scare intruders and prepare for attack. In our age of adventurous tourism, this information should be included in any Survival handbook for ignorant daredevils.
A closer look at the subject reveals that ostriches are not quite such remote creatures as we might think of them as being.
Their origin dates back to the Eocene epoch (40 to 50 million yearsAgo) and they were first domesticated by the ancient Egyptians and Romans who used them to pull their triumphal chariots. The various symbolic meanings attributed to ostrich feathers over the centuries prove that the bird itself was highly rated. Pharaohs and court dignitaries had ostrich feather flywhisks as tokens of their role as men of law. Crusaders returning from the Middle East, where there were still thousands of ostriches used their plumes to decorate their helmets as a symbol of power and virility. Since those days ostrich feathers have appeared in many coats of arms, most notably of all in that of the Prince of Wales since the time of Edward III. Over the years ostrich feathers progressively became the prerogative of kings and queens, and later of the beautiful women who took their cue from royalty.
AND OTHERS
Ostrich plume trimmings reached their zenith during the belle époque, when several farmers in the Cape colony made their fortunes. Initially a symbol of force and virility, these feathers finally became the ultimate symbol of femininity.
The ostrich is the largest living bird species in the world, but it cannot fly since its feathers, wings and tail are not functional. From a zoological point of view, it is the only living member of the Struthionidae family, belonging to the order Struthioniformes. Apparently there are no closely related species, even though a few zoologists consider EMU’s and rheas to be their relatives. An adult ostrich is on average 2.5 to 3 meters high and 2 meters long. It weighs from 70 to 130 kilos, but some can reach as much as 180 kilos. Wild ostriches weigh 100-115 kilos on average, but domesticated ostriches are usually slaughtered when a little less than that.
In the past there were a very few species of birds even larger than the ostrich, like the giant elephant bird of Madagascar which could weigh as much as 500 kilos. However, such creatures have long been extinct. The ostrich is a flightless bird, but a very rapid runner, reaching peaks of 70 km per hour and maintaining constant speeds of 50 km/h for about 15 minutes or more, with giant bumping strides of 4 to 5 meters each.
The two toes of the foot are united by a web, which enables the ostrich to run smoothly on unstable surfaces such as sand. High speed and perfect eyesight have always been - and still are - the ostrich's main defence against enemies and predators. Indeed, they account for its survival.
Though it is not without pitfalls, ostrich farming is a relatively straightforward affair. Since their natural habitat consists of deserts and savannahs, ostriches are naturally resistant to major temperature drops at night and during the cold season. They do not like heavy rain and high humidity, but can endure snow and temperatures below 0° C.
They feed more or less like chickens and turkeys, meaning that they are basically grainivorous - herbivorous birds whose diet should be supplemented with fodder, medicinal herbs and birdseed when they are chicks. Definitive feathers grow when they reach sexual maturity, that is, at about 16-18 months of age.
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