THE OSTRICH IN CALIFORNIA.

Woodville Examiner, Volume VII, Issue 659, 30 January 1891, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE OSTRICH IN CALIFORNIA.

Scattered throughout southern California are to ho found ostrich farms, but the largest ranches are perhaps those at Fallbrook and Pasadena, At the former place there is a ranch which contains about seventy. The birds are valued at £2OO to £250 each. They are enormous creatures, 6ft. to Bft. high, and weighing 2001 b. to 3001 b. The females are smaller than the males, and lay ten or twelve eggs, possibly as high as sixteen, one every other day, which are placed in the nest vertically, smallest end down. Under certain circumstances a bird may lay as many as fifty eggs in a year, which are quite large, measuring 18in. in circumference and weighing 31b. to 41b. The shells are one-twelfth of an inch thick, and are used by the natives as water vessels. They feed on alfalfa, cabbage, corn, doura (Indian millet), etc., and each adult consumes about 401 b. of food daily. They will swallow almost anything: large stones, bits of brick, metals, coin, etc., all of which they are able to digest. One of the birds at San Diego is said to be thirty-two years old, but in their native land they are reputed to live to the advanced age of eighty to 100 years. The period of incubation is forty-two days, the male performing that duty from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m., while his generous spouse assumes the delicate care of the prospective family the remaining part of the day.