The Non-Rooster

My Beazer Clan lives on 1.4 acres in Gilbert, Arizona. We have been there about 9 years, and we love it. We raise beef, have a great dog, and about 12 chickens. Two years ago some friends gave us a baby emu chick, it was about the size of a goose. We named him Roger, after our friends the Rogers that gave him to us. He has grown to quite a large bird, standing about 5 feet tall. He has great blue and purple colors on his neck. Sometimes he thinks he's part of the family and just follows us around the yard.

Of course when you have a large yard, there is always a lot of work to be done. Typically I spend my Saturday mornings enjoying a long run of about 15 miles, then I spend much of the afternoon working the land. It is a very enjoyable contrast to my usual days in the office as a loan officer. Recently, I was coming in from the orchard, past Roger's pen and saw something unusal. I climbed in and went over to his nest, and saw 4 HUGE GREEN EGGS! I was stunned, we had never considered that "he" was a "she". We were confused, but SHE wasn't. Roger is not a rooster, but a hen.

Now we get a new egg about every three days. They are bright, hard, and heavy (about 3 pounds). Each emu egg equals about 12 small chicken eggs. It freaks out some of our friends, but we eat the eggs, why not? Guess what they taste like--- that's right, chicken! They are best scrambled and served with homemade salsa. We usually drill small holes in the shell and blow the white and yolk out, preserving the beautiful green shell.