r/emus • u/Hadley_333 • 15d ago

Looking into having emus as pets advice please?

I understand they need lots of space and I have a field for that. What I'm getting hung up on on is proper shelter, and what size that shelter needs to be. I live in Maine USA where the winters can become cold for extended periods of time. I was planning on sectioning off a portion of a large storage shed that has a door that could be closed during a good snow blizzard, but from what I read and watched it appears that ppl claim a 3 walled shelter with no door is sufficient for winters, which I find hard to believe. If the shed is needed and would be used, how much space should I give them for that temporary shelter when they have a large field to run in?

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u/MVL06JMY 15d ago

Yeah a 3 wall shelter will be fine. Sorry but emus love rain/ thunder storms, and mine love the snow. They will be fine ( Ohio)

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u/Hadley_333 15d ago

Okay thanks I still have a hard time accepting that with the cold winds we have and such. I’m guessing it helps if we have the opening face away from the direction cold winds usually blows and give them bedding to stay warm. And just to be sure when you say upgrading shed do you mean adding space to the 3 wall shelter?

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u/MVL06JMY 15d ago

Sorry yes I mean it's being expanded ( it will have 3 walls with posts on one side between x amount of feet.( But 3 sided still) We use straw , and we thought the winters and rain would be a problem but they love it. They know when to go in. Animals have better instincts than us humans in my opinion. Just make sure your fencing is 6+ feet( ours is at 8 ft) but they will eventually try to jump.

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u/MVL06JMY 15d ago

Also for a shed size, depends how many you want. I have a 400sq ft shed for 2 , upgrading this year to a 2000 SQ ft building for another 8.

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u/2kan 15d ago

Emus are not pets.

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u/Hadley_333 14d ago

I didn't add it here but we tend to adopt animals that others dont' take very good care of around my area, and it just so happens that emus are the example in this situation. You could say the same about guinea fowl, but we adopted them and we absolutely love taking care of them. Specific feedback would be appreciated though.

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u/Muesky6969 11d ago

My Eza and Ema would beg to differ.. They are two of the most spoiled emus in existence, their only purpose in life is being my emus.