In our previous blog article we touched on the history of Ostrich Farming, which originally started as a result of the demand for their feathers for the fashion industry. Today, ostriches are farmed for their leather and meat.
Ostrich meat is low in fat content and low in cholesterol so is considered a healthy alternative to traditional red meat.
Farmers who care for their livestock can benefit massively from this industry. Female ostriches who are fed a balanced, nutritional diet and are well cared for can produce up to 40 offspring per year. They have a short gestation period of 42 days to hatch an egg.
The general breeding period is 30 years or more, so one female can produce up to 1,200 offspring in a lifetime.
Ostriches breed in pairs, in threes or in a colony. Eggs are laid in clutches. The female will lay on a regular basis. She will maintain this for a period of time before taking a break from laying eggs and then resume again after a couple of weeks.
Ostrich farming does not employ the use of antibiotics, steroids, force feeding or growth hormones to boost the size and maturity of animals before slaughter. So there is an environmental and health advantage to farming and eating the meat of such animals.
Ostriches are free roaming and feed off a diet of lucerne, corn, soy and wheat. They also require a good source of water as they can drink up to 2 gallons (9 litres) of water every day.
Ostrich Biltong:
Ostrich is one of the finest quality red meats available and you get the added health benefits of high levels of iron, protein and extremely low levels of fat and cholesterol. Ostrich meat is used to produce a wide variety of products from sausages, burger patties, minced meat, diced stewing steaks and
biltong.
Have you sampled ostrich biltong? What is your verdict?