Extending our Family:

One of our gorgeous female ostriches is about to become a Mom! We could hardly believe our eyes when we came across her nest, or more accurately just a simple hollow in the ground. Ostriches generally nest communally, so we are very excited to see if the other ostriches will join the nest.   

Laying up to 20 eggs the female Ostrich is able to distinguish between her own eggs amongst the others in a communal nest. The glossy cream coloured eggs average 15cm long and 13cm wide, and can weigh up to 1.4 kilograms in weight. Interestingly the yolk of an ostrich egg is the largest single cell but the smallest egg relative to the size of the adult bird. 

The clutch is incubated mainly by the female during the day and by the male during the evenings. This is a rather ingenious way of sharing a duty, as this uses the colouration of the two sexes to blend into the natural environment and prevent the detection of the nest. The female with her drab plumage blends in with the sand, while the black male is nearly undetectable in the night. The pair shares the incubation process for 35 to 45 days. Typically, the male defends the hatchlings and teaches them to feed, although males and females cooperate in rearing chicks. Fewer than 10% of nests survive the 9 week period of laying and incubation, and of the hatched chicks, only 15% of those survive to 1 year of age. 

  

We are hardly able to contain our excitement, as we anticipate the arrival of our ostriches chicks. Watch this space as there will soon be new hatchlings running around here at Ubizane, extending our feathered family one step further!