Ostrich Close up

A few ostrich facts for you:

Ostriches are not an endangered species; there are at least 2 million worldwide.

Ostriches skeletons and fossils have been found which date back over 120 million years; ostriches are a true dinosaur.

Ostriches are the second fastest animal in the world, and the fastest 2 legged animal, and can run at 45 miles per hour (70 km. per hour). They can maintain this speed for at least 30 minutes.

When fully grown an ostrich has one of the most advanced immune systems known to mankind.

The Ostrich is the largest living bird in the world.
It is of the Ratite family, which means flightless bird.

Adult males are 6-9 feet in height and weigh 350-400 pounds.

A male Ostrich is called a rooster and a female Ostrich is called a hen.

The male is black with white wing tips and tail plumes.
The female has light brown and grey plumage and is slightly smaller than the male.

This great bird has two toes, all other birds have three or four toes.

An Ostrich will live to be 50 - 75 years old.

Although an ostrich egg is the largest of all eggs, it is the smallest egg in relation to the size of the bird.
The Ostrich egg will weigh 1600 gm and is equivalent to 2 dozen chicken eggs.

An Ostrich Hen can lay 40 -100 eggs per year, averaging about 60 eggs per year.

Ostrich eggs hatch in 42 days.

An Ostrich chick grows one foot taller each month until it is 7-8 months old.

Females sit on eggs by day; males sit on eggs by night.

To soft boil a fresh egg would take one hour. To hard boil would take 1 1/2 hours.

Oh and by the way, ostriches do not bury their head in the sand!