Rheas

Rheas are the South American equivalent of the ostrich, both having evolved from a common ancestor before the continents separated. Unusually for birds, it is the male that makes the nest and incubates the eggs. The male displays to attract the females to lay their eggs in his nest and will typically incubate anywhere from 13 to 30 eggs. Once they hatch, the male alone cares for the youngsters for up to 6 months. In the wild, they usually remain in groups until they are 2 to 3 years old.

They are smaller than an Ostrich, being only about 5 feet tall and, in the UK, you don't need a wild animal license to keep them. They are surprisingly hardy, for they come from the pampas (grasslands) and do not seek shelter at all, even in the depths of winter, and they are pretty much disease-free. Neither are they troubled by foxes, even when young, though we do keep ours in a fox-proof compound, just to be on the safe side. They can become tame, and eat from the hand, but they get confident and peck at buttons, shoelaces, watches and fingers - which hurts!

They eat plants and small insects, but we supplement ours with a special Ostrich ration and flaked peas, which they love. They also eat young thistles, which is perfect for the organic farmer with a weed problem, though they do not seem so keen on docks. Their meat is particularly prized, being very much like tender filet steak, but very low in cholesterol and with only about 1% fat, and it cooks incredibly quickly.

Our rheas bred successfully in 2006 with the male sitting on a clutch of eggs in the open all through the very hot weather. He hatched three chicks, which are growing well and have become quite tame around people.