Ostrich Farming

 

The big question: Is Ostrich worth eating? In our view the answer is undoubtably yes. It tastes great and is nearly indistinguishable from a really good fillet beef steak. Apparently it has much lower fat and cholesterol than a beef steak.

In the early 1990’s, all the talk was about ostrich becoming the next big farming thing in the UK. It didn’t happen. No idea why, but to guess the UK weather, the ostrich evolved to live in the heat of Africa and Oudtshoorn gets hot. These are birds that look like descendants of dinosaurs, with feet that would not look out of place on a raptor in Jurassic Park. They can run at speeds of 60km per hour for up to 2km. Their brains are the size of a walnut, so they are not the smartest and do not make good pets. They will easily kill a human with their sharp claws on their feet, but they are not meat eaters, so this is a defence mechanism rather than any hunting instinct. 

We visited the local Ostrich Safari, which sounds grand, but in reality it’s a tractor trailer ride around a farm. In the trailer you are perfectly safe, although it does feel intimidating as they run up to the side and use their long necks to find any food you are carrying. However, you can’t help but feel affection for these funny flightless birds.

 

Ostrich farmers know how to make the most of their birds. First of all, they get tourists to pay to visit them and feed them. Then there is the meat. Each bird produces many steaks. The feathers make dusters and the skin is used for luxury leather items. It’s a good business. 

The ostrich produces a very large egg, which they can lay daily, but it’s not for eating, unless you fancy the equivalent of 20 chicken eggs in a single meal. Death by cholesterol will come quickly. The eggs are however very strong and they will take the weight of a human.

 

So that was our ostrich farm experience, which finished with one of the ostrich’s taking a fancy to Janice’s shiny ring. To our amusement it was caught on camera.  

And then back to our hotel to sample ostrich steaks, washed down with a bottle of Ernie Ells cabernet sauvignon wine, which is really good. Ernie was a great golfer and now produces some great wine from his vineyard near Stellenbosch.