HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1996-03-13, Page 31Ostrich not conside - . exQtic now
by Sue Ann Elite
Before you enter Tom Frit/es building, he may
adviseyou to remove shiny jewelryand wain you
not to turn your back on the intimidating, yet
cute, creatures that call the barns home,
Their huge brown eyes have an almost human
characteristic, ung the unwary want to pet the
feathered enters. But beware of the hard beaks
that curiously pokeand peek at visitors. They've
been known to bite. Though them are only a few
ostrich in, each pen, reaching as tall as :eight feet,
there is .little noise.,. except for the gnashing of
the females beak as she, .signals, she is ready to
• rated •
Once known only as the finny looking, birds in
zoos -and
wildlife parks,
the ostrich is
• fast becoming
a viable and
lucrative live -
.stock. tock. sterna
two.- n
two. -
are
not . considered
to be exotic
stock anymore.
They're, now
recognized as
an agricultural,
commodityno
different than;
cattle or ]hogs,"
said TQm,;Fritz.
•., of Chepstow,
president of
O s -t ,r i c hL
Genetics Inc.
Likethe
company ;name
suggests, Fritz
said ;.their
intention is to :.
.produce:' the'
Nom Pr gross'%4o 1$
Relatively new to the( stry, he considers ita..
challenge that"can by very rewarding and inter-
esting. He has rece4k built two barns and has
plans for another one. three tarns will house
about 60 ostrich„ strictly used for breeding.
An arttc - t sparked Frit s interest and by
June of las r he had researched enough to
enter the del
"'W hen l looked at the: inJustty, it caught my
interest because: the meat is high °quality, low-fat
and low in cholesterol, The conversion of feed to
meat ration is excellent and the productivity of
ostrich is enormous."
Though :ostrich breeders are becoming more
common in North erica, die original. buds are
4irect descen-
dants of South
African stocks
Health
regulations and.
inspections-
outlined by 'the
Ministry of
Agriculture,.
have made
Canada a had-
ing exporter of
quality live-
stock. Canada's,
harsher climate
means ' ostrich
are often kept
inside in a
morestable
• atmosphere.
Fritz said even
people 'from
New Zealand,.
who have their
own ostrich,
request
Can..a"dian
sto k,
hictlnj
RATigioURY S , CU PITQN, on •
GAS .FITTING,
`HET META
hop: (5 9) 482-9720
Resp, (19) 48 720 .,
Cet; (fig), 04-9774
LareilAtleau
GHOU! 13
RR#1.8rucofteld Ont-. •Npm.I J0
Class#c ° ?actor,• Car, and. Gassy Book •
Decal Sets for older. Tractors• and. GasEngines'
(519) 5224248
AiWays Qpea ii home, bet,piease fail first
One male East of Rracefieid on Qon. Rd, 3 Man J Flaugt
13O./1 u. , Truck Load
Delivered :within, 20 miles'
Mileage charge Beyond` That
00eQuantity Discounts When You Haut!!!
•Craig Hardwoods' Ltd - t�rr*�x�
Auburn, Ont.
hi hest quality ,; With .his'r.back-'
of ostrich by ground in:
cross -breeding s building; ;Fritz;
them.The also president
/� y�y I� ri u.� Y
,c o ` ani p a, n y X". i v �i ` b .k �� �.
'owned by:Fri , of Fritz
and ' several '
der- c
• !Concrete, said
invstors, has
`� one he under-,
threes different ,stands, what is
breeds" :..and' { °• needed' in the
Tom Fritz, ries, e It o Ostrich Genetics Inc: ways : business, he
wants to cross ostrich are now recogn zer as".a an agricultural cora'- will:. also have
them for abet- m+odity no .differenf� han c N or (Su Ann i
ter quality att hogs.e' file°' .thecpertlse t6
,stock. One. of P"°'°
build mor
those is the red efficient
, i barns
ostrich Which s rare in Canada. ' for the -ostrich. ,Twenty, years ago he developed a
`Tye been told that a long bine ago, chickens system of pouring concrete sandwich walls in
that originally came from Europe only laid four ,, . place that had never been done before. The •walls
eggs a, year. Through .breeding.they can. now lay are erected inone step. and already insulated.
almost an egg a day. So it's still hard to say how Tie biggestadvantage is how energy efficient
far genetics Will take'this indite ," Fritz said
. �Y � it is..�t's durabYe, fire proof, requires almost °no
He said the birds tune very productive, laying maintenance and. is element proof. They can also .
up to 100 eggs a. year, though. as few as 20 of
t�those may hatch or survive. About 10 days after
put quickly,!' he -said;
Ritz is ,only breeding thebirds for noW, but said a
mating, the :female. lays .heregg and around 4
. , 4 percentangn:ofthe steek wilt have to be coinmitted
days later. it.wil1 hatch, The egg$, rikexng about for.slaughter t+o introduce ostrich meat to the mar -
five pounds, are uSually collected immediately so ket. He said. his next stepWill be to build' more
they are'not broken or contaminated, : then sent to
an incubator.
barns: to raise ostrich to maturity far their meat sad hide.
Ostrich breed continuously from earl!, in the "I'm ve excited shout it, There are onlya
year until fall, Meaning there could be up" to'
new birds byfa1# offspring; handful of breeders in Ontario and the' waywe are
sold for. its meal!
and: bidetcan sell for over $1,000.' Able to breed eveloping it will be one, of the: largest operations
for 30-40 yeanrs, Fritz said • a :fertile with ,good before long. (Ostrich Genet/04 main endeavor;
breeding is worth'a lot will be to supply 'hopeftilbreeders with, quality
But Fritz isn't. in it for just the money. stock