Ostrich farming

Ostrich farming was initiated at Agro-Soyuz as a hobby. The first 12 ostriches were imported in the year 2000 (4 families: 4 males and 8 females).

In 2003 Agro-Soyuz decided to go in to commercial ostrich farming and imported 372 breeders from South Africa.

The breeding farm was built in 2003.

In 2004 the trade mark «Zhar-ptitsa» was registered, under which ostrich meat is sold in Ukraine.

Today, Agro-Soyuz’s ostrich farm is the largest in Ukraine and one of the biggest in Europe.

The enterprise has a status of a breeding farm to breed African black-neck ostriches (first order reproduction unit).

The technology

Commercial rearing and reproduction of ostriches

Aims of reproduction:

• To obtain quality young stock (commercial hybrids)


• Selection targeted to improvement of meat qualities in the male line (growth rate, meat yield)


• Selection targeted to improvement of productive qualities in the female line (intensity of egg laying, age of beginning of egg laying).

Agro-Soyuz’s specialists developed and implemented a program of two-line breeding of ostriches inside the breed.

Main production processes:

• Housing of breeders/breeding stock. Selection. Production of incubation eggs (individual houses with a paddock for families)


• Incubation of eggs. Production of day-old chicks


• Rearing of young stock (brooder-facility with controlled environment, hangars with local heating, paddocks)


• Finishing of ostriches (group housing in hangars).

Specifications of production

Total number of ostriches: 1,870 heads

Breeders: males — 184 heads, females — 331 heads

Finishing for slaughter - 499 heads

Replacement stock - 286 heads

Young stock in finishing facilities - 499 heads

Main breed: South African black-neck ostrich.

Closed cycle ostrich production facility

(key facilities — production capacity):

• Breeding farm — 450 heads
• Incubator — 2016 eggs, 12,000 eggs per year
• Young stock rearing farm — 6,000 heads/year
• Commercial finishing farm — 3,000 heads/year
• Slaughter house with primary processing of meat — 10 heads per working shift.

Slaughtering of birds, cutting, processing and packaging of meat is performed according to international standards on special equipment.

Products

Main product (high market) – meat and skins of ostriches.

Additional products — edible eggs (food industry), egg shells (production of souvenirs), fat (production of cosmetics), feathers (production of decorations, accessories).

• High quality of skins and feathers


• Low susceptibility to stress related to commercial rearing and housing


• Broad selection of genetic material (more than 60,000 breeders only in South Africa).