CARNDUFF, Sask. – The cooler spring has had its effect on ostriches. The birds are behind schedule laying eggs across Canada.
“Our ostriches are three to four weeks late laying eggs,” said Merrilyn McCaskell, who raises the African birds near Redvers, Sask.
Ostrich producer Judy Wallace, of Oxbow, Sask., has the same problem.
“We won’t know until the end of the season just how much money we’re out. I’m hoping they will lay longer,” she said.
Ostriches normally lay between 20 and 100 eggs in a season and the eggs are valued at about $75 each. After hatching, the chicks sell for approximately $150.
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“Egg laying depends on the weather and it depends on the bird,” said Wallace.
Birds in other parts of Canada are also late laying this year.
“It has been so incredibly cold for so long. These birds know. They are probably the best barometers that we have. They just wouldn’t lay when the weather wasn’t conducive,” said Faye Street, an ostrich producer in Jaffray, B.C.
Caused by cold
“It’s about the same in Alberta,” said Jay Champion, of the Alberta Ostrich Association and a producer at Sundre. “The producers here attribute it to the colder than average winter and a cold late spring,” Champion said.
“Just about everybody I’ve talked to in Manitoba is having the same problem. They are all three to four weeks behind,” said Gary Willcocks, the president of the Canadian Ostrich Association and a producer from Morden, Man.
“It’s too soon to tell if this will have implications on the future of the industry,” he said.
Ghislain Morin, of the Quebec association, said his hens didn’t start laying until the end of May this year compared to the end of March last year.
“The industry is climate dependent so we have to live with this,” Morin said from his home in St. Epiphane, Que.
Several producers expressed concern about a longer laying season and late hatching chicks.
“Late hatching chicks don’t do as well as early hatching chicks, particularly if they can’t get out in the fresh air and sunshine,” Champion said.
