Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: Eggs

This Emu egg and the eggs in the basket below, are all naturally colored! I was fascinated to discover that the color of an Emu's eggs is normally a deep speckled green, but can be many different shades depending on a bird's diet, as can be seen below. This top egg is unusual because of the markings, as they are usually a solid color with speckles. Emu eggs are usually drilled with a Dremel tool so that the beautiful egg can be saved and displayed or used for art projects! (pictures coming!) Emu eggs are HUGE ! They measure about 5.3" × 3.5" and weigh between 1.5 and 2 POUNDS!!! You will be surprised to find out that they taste identical to chicken eggs, but they are healthier, containing less saturated fat and more unsaturated fat. Chicken eggs are 65% white and 35% yolk, while Emu eggs are 55% white and 45% yolk. As for the amount, chicken eggs yield about 1/4 cup, while Emu eggs contain about two cups , WOW!! Domesticated Emu hens lay on average, one egg every three days during the laying season (several months). In the wild, Emu hens lay one egg every two or three days and the average number in the nest is 11, though counts have been seen as high as 20! For more information about Emus, Wiki has a wonderful source here: Wiki:Emu

In the wild, male emus take the responsibility of keeping the eggs warm, turning them, and protecting the clutch of 10-20 eggs from predators. He will rarely eat or even stand for the next 43-50 days until the chicks hatch. At emu ranches, eggs are usually collected and put into a special incubator which performs several important functions. It keeps the eggs at a precise temperature (96.5-97 degrees), it blows fresh air over the porous eggs, provides a slowly evolving humidity, and rolls the eggs in both directions many times during the day. It has taken years to develop excellent incubators like this one that can do what a male emu does without even thinking about it! :D If you would like to know more about hatching emu eggs, I found a wonderful article here: The Poultry Site: Incubation of Ratites