How tall is an ostrich?
Karoo
The ostrich is found throughout Africa, but the most handsome specimens came from the Little Karoo, where the dry weather, but plentiful water in the streams formed an ideal habitat for these large, flightless birds. Here, they grow to over 2 m in height, and weigh over 100 kg. The male’s feathers have been prized by many cultures in Africa, Europe, and Asia over thousands of years. In the 1860s, a farmer in the Graaff-Reinet district was apparently the first person to demonstrate that the ostrich could successfully be domesticated, bred in captivity, and the eggs hatched in incubators, while still producing the magnificent feathers. This idea was quickly adopted by farmers in the Little Karoo, where they started growing lucerne as the birds’ favorite food. During 1880, no less than 74,000 kg of feathers were exported, and in 1904, it passed the 210,000-kg mark.
The First World War brought about a slump in the ostrich feather market, but the industry recovered in later years, when not only the feathers were sought after, but also ostrich leather, and its meat, which is very tasty, and a major export item. Today, several farms can be visited by tourists, near Oudtshoorn, the center of the ostrich industry.
Ostrich farming in Namibia
Ostriches are ready to breed when they are two to three years. Females always mature faster than males. The breeding season lasts from winter to mid summer. During this period both male and females display mating dances and behaviours.The females bore and ruffle their wings and the males do complicated dances and make loud booming noises.During mating the male mounts the female and inserts his penis into her cloaca facilitating the passage of sperm into the female. A few days after mating the male digs a hole in the ground for the female to lay her eggs in.The male and female alternate to sit on the eggs with the female doing duty in the day and the male in the night.Some birds can lay up to 100 eggs during the breeding season with an egg being laid every one or two days.During this period the male ostriches become very aggressive protecting both the female and the eggs.