Species Description: -
Ostrich,
Common name for a large, flightless bird. 
Ostriches are the largest and strongest of living bird.

Baby_blu's Daddy (right) and Mommy(left)~!!

The First Few hour of Baby_Blu (above)...

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In the later part of the day, Baby_blu (below) finally found his way out, after whole day of trying to peck out of its shell, he is now taking a rest...

More Characteristic and Facts about Baby_blu:

Baby_blu is still a baby chick and like all young ostrich chicks. He stands around 30 cm (1 foot tall) when hatched. When fully grown can attain a height from crown to foot of about 2.4 m (about 8 ft) and a weight of up to 136 kg (300 lb).. He was told by daddy that at the age of 30 days (one month) old, the young bird can run about 55 kms! (35 miles an hour for short distances. Whereas daddy ,a fully grown adult, can
run 100 kms (60 miles) an hour.

Baby_blu like all ostriches now and before his parents' times, has long featherless neck and small head, with large eyes and short, broad beak. The large eyes attributed to our very keen eyesight. Its especially true to help us spot dangers and we may crouch down - with our necks stretched out - and disappeared from view. People who saw us ,ostriches, acting in this way once believed, mistakenly, that the huge birds were burying their heads in the sand.

Bably_blu can spread his small wings when running and
have long, powerful legs that are used for defense and
guarding the young birds (when adult). The feet have only two toes. I wastold we can once fly as our wing bone stucture are the same as those of flying birds. However our ancestors live in places where we have few or no enemies or they can run fast enough to escape dangers.

Once a bird no longer needs to fly, it may evolve into a
form so large that it cannot fly.

Baby_blu is omnivorous, eating grass, the foliage of trees and bushes, and any small invertebrate and vertebrate animals it can chase down. Examples fruits, lizards and insects. We also swallow large amounts of sands and small pebbles to help digest the foods.

We ostriches have one of the longest life spans of any land animals. Especially us, who live in captivity records age of around 70 years old!

Well thats all folks for now.

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Do you know:

- A male ostrich is called a rooster, and a female ostrich
is called a hen.

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

- Ostriches are not originally from Africa. Paleontologists
have evidence that it originated on the Asian steppes in the Eocene Epoch (40 to 50 million years ago), ranging through Asia, Europe and Africa. Today its range in the wild is limited to Africa.

- Male ostriches are black, with white wings and tail,
whereas female ostriches are a dull grayish brown. Both
have thick eyelashes of fine feathers.

Can you differentiate them??
There are 3 males and a female in this pic...

- The males are polygamous (pairing with more than
one female) and travel about in hot, sandy areas with
3 or 4 females, or in group of 4 or 5 males accompanied
by mates and young. The eggs regardless by which
"wife" are all deposist in the same nest that may
contains up to 30 or more. The male sits on them at night, and the female incubates them by day for a period of six weeks. However ranches' eggs are electrically heated with incubators.

- The females lay their yellowish-white eggs together in a single large depression in the sand. The eggs weigh about 1.4 kg (about 3 lb) each and have a volume of about 1.4 liters (about 3 pints). To soft boil a fresh egg would take one hour. To hard boil would take 1 1/2 hours. An ostrich egg is roughly equals to 12 hen 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 is born 'cold-blooded'. Chicks are unable to regulate their body temperature at hatch thus a necessity for an external source of heat. At hatch, supplement heat shall be around 90-95 degree F (32-35 degree celcius).
The need for supplement heat lessen as it grows.

- To calm an ostrich, put a sock or an opaque, soft
stocking on it.
When slipped over the eyes and ears down the neck, the ostrich's sight and hearing are obstructed. This is especially true as darkness or limited light make birds think its night time and time to sleep, and thus easier to handle.

- Ostriches seldom kick backward, so its safer for handler to approach from behind.

- Ostriches consumes almost everything, it can seize and swallow a wide range substances. Even harmful ones! The chicks are especially prone to swallow whatever they can reach, this sometimes lead to injury or death.

- Ostrich can outrun a cheetah. Although cheetahs can attain a 113 km/hr (70 m/hr) speed in a sprint but it tires easily. Whereas an ostriches that run faster than 60 km/hr (39 m/hr) and sustains a velocity no other earthly animal can par.
Nontheless, ostriches are still easily to be captured by man on horseback as they tend to run in circles whom eventually gets tired and held in captivity by pursurers who chased them in relays.

- During hot weather, ostriches will use their wings as a fan to keep themselves cool and when it gets cold, they will cover their thighs with their wings to keep themselves warm.

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