Optimal production phase in ostrich farming

As with any livestock farming business, ostrich farming must be efficient to remain profitable. Each day the ostrich spends on the farm after it has gained the optimum weight for the bird to be ready for slaughter means that a portion of the proceeds is used to feed the ostrich for that extra day. The goal of each management team is to ensure healthy ostriches that produce quality ostrich meat, ostrich feathers, ostrich skins, and ostrich eggs and chicks, all in the most cost-effective way. The final products must also retain the quality desired by the consumer.

Each species of cattle has a growth pattern that is followed: First comes the rapid growth stage, after which the muscles begin to develop. Then the animal enters the maturation stage, where it will reach sexual maturity. Understanding this pattern for ostriches will ensure that you manage your stocks efficiently. Keeping a bird for slaughter until it has reached sexual maturity does not increase the live weight or carcass weight of the bird. Once the growth of the bird has reached the optimum, the ostrich will no longer get fat, it will only mature the muscles (making the meat tougher for the consumer). When the ostrich begins its maturation phase, it is beginning to devour the benefits that could have been obtained. Only birds intended for breeding should be kept once the initial growth stage has been reached.

Let’s take a look at the average weights and FCR rates for ostriches around the world, and the optimal averages found on a farm. Remember that with each passing year, the stock on the farm became genetically stronger, and this can also influence the final FCR. However, it is worth noting that ostriches tend to lose weight again after the initial growth phase, as they mature. For optimal FCR, the ostriches in this table should be slaughtered within 200 days. For maximum ostrich meat production, they should be slaughtered at 225 days, with a slightly higher conversion rate:

World average, in 365 days, reaching a weight of 95 kg, with a FCR of 5.9
Average – Year 3, in 280 days, reaching a weight of 110 kgs, eating 420 kgs, with FCR of 3.8
Average – Year 7, in 225 days, reaching a weight of 225 kgs, eating 293 kgs, with FCR of 2.4
Average – Year 10, in 200 days, reaching a weight of 125 kgs, eating 250 kgs, with FCR of 2.0

It is worth noting here that grazing, be it grass, hay or alfalfa is also part of the feeding costs of each ostrich, and must be taken into account when calculating the FCR. Even grazing costs money, both to plant and to maintain. Some farms have found that it is easier to feed canned foods, rather than growing foods, as the nutritional values ​​of growing foods change daily and will influence the accuracy of FCR rates.

Keeping records in your own ostrich farming business will allow you to optimize your feeding regimen, as well as the optimal days for slaughter. We have a lot to learn from the poultry and swine industries, in terms of optimizing FCR and optimizing management performance.

This will not only guarantee a lower grocery bill, but it will also free up capital and work space for the upcoming season much faster. Labor costs are also reduced and pens may have a bit more time to recover for next season’s ostriches.

Therefore, we can see that as the population increases and the demand for meat protein increases, our natural resources are depleted. By using the robust management practice of Optimized FCR and shortening the days to slaughter, we are relieving pressure on the environment while creating more efficiency and profitability for our own. ostrich breeding industry.