- The ostrich is of the Ratitie family, which means flightless bird.
- The ostrich is a native of Africa
- The ostrich is the largest living bird in the world.
- Adult males exceed eight feet in height and weigh 350-400 pounds.
- The female is less in weight and coloured with light brown and grey plumage.
- The male is called a rooster and the female a hen.
- This great bird has two toes, all other birds have three or four toes.
- The ostrich eye ball is two inches in diameter and is the largest eye of any land animal.
- The ostrich can run at speeds of up to 40 mph.
- These birds live to be 50 - 75 years old.
- An ostrich egg will weigh 3-4 pounds and is equivalent to 24 - 30 chicken eggs.
- Females lay approximately 50 - 100 eggs per year.
- Ostrich eggs hatch in 42 days.
- Although an ostrich egg is the largest of all eggs it is the smallest egg in relation to the size of the bird.
- An ostrich chick grows 1 foot taller each month untill it reaches its full height.
- Females sit on eggs by day, males sit on eggs by night.
- To soft boil a fresh egg would take 1 hour. To hard boil would take an hour and a half.
- Ostrich farming is considered to be a form of alternative agriculture, with the fine quality leather, feathers, gourment meat, eggs and Oil products.
