| Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch is a family owned
and operated ranch located on 600 acres between Phoenix and
Tucson, Arizona on Interstate 10. We are the largest privately
owned ranch in the United States and actually have the birds
to prove it. All the birds on the farm are ours. We are not
boarding birds for many different clients nor do we sell an
investment concept where many people own a portion of a breeding
trio. The important number to remember is how many mature breeding
hens a ranch has and in 2000, we will have over 1100 PURE SOUTH
AFRICAN BLACK hens laying.
We are actually one of the pioneer farms here in the United
States and have been very involved with the development of
the ostrich organizations here. D.C. has made numerous trips
to South Africa, Israel, Namibia, and other countries exploring
the ostrich industry and trying to educate himself as thoroughly
as possible. All of this effort has been a wise investment.
Some of the accomplishments to D.C.'s credit include:
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One of the Early Pioneers
of the American Ostrich Association
Board of Directors of the American Ostrich Association
Program Chairman and Director of three National Ostrich
Conventions
Master of Ceremonies at six National Ostrich Conventions
Largest flock of Pure South African Blacks anywhere in
the world outside of Outshone, South Africa
One of our primary goals is to be the leader in ostrich
artificial insemination. This will be a major step towards
large scale commercial production. |
Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch was located in Guthrie, OK
from 1986 until 1993 when we moved to our current location
in Arizona. (It was a hard move but one we felt was necessary,
due to climate, in order to do the things we have in mind
with large scale commercial production). When we first started
in 1986, it was with 3 month old chicks out of the very best
layers we could find. At that time only Rednecks and Bluenecks
were available and nobody even knew of the South African Blacks.
After one year, D.C.'s many years of experience as a professional
animal trainer were telling him that there is no way that
we will ever raise this wild bird efficiently on a large scale.
About this same time a friend in the ostrich business had
just returned from South Africa and was talking about the
incredible things he had seen there. Before long, D.C. and
Lucille were on their way to South Africa to learn all that
they could. What they saw amazed them. It was what was referred
to as a "real commercial ostrich."
Birds were being driven by the hundreds down the side of
busy highways; large breeding groups were together; low, inexpensive
fencing was sufficient. And a different type bird was the
reason. That started our transformation over to the South
African Blacks. It was a long, hard, painful, and expensive
road. (See "Will the Real South African Black Stand Up").
From that time on Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch has continued
to move forward. We never got caught up in buying and selling
birds to make "the fast buck" but have stayed very
focused on our long term goal of large scale commercial ranching.
We believe in the ostrich and the resulting products. If the
people that are in this business for the wrong reasons don't
destroy it by cheating so many people, we will eventually
have an incredible industry.
Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch has spent many years and a
lot of money on research trying to create a way to raise these
birds in large numbers. South Africa is the only place that
has really raised commercial ostriches for slaughter. We need
to learn what we can from them, and then move forward to the
next step. South Africa has also limited production of ostriches
because the hide was the main product and overproduction would
result in lower prices.
Today, American farmers as well as many others worldwide
are viewing ostriches as a healthy red meat source to feed
the population. The hide and feathers will still be an important
part, but for a food source we will have to raise ostriches
in larger numbers than has ever been done anywhere in the
world. This means we must invent how to do this efficiently.
We can.The Turkey Industry and the Poultry Industry did. Rooster
Cogburn Ostrich Ranch has pursued this missing link in the
industry and we have spent a tremendous amount of effort trying
to find the answers. With every failure, comes a success and
we now know that ostrich chicks can be raised in confinement
in large numbers. We have lost a lot of chicks learning how,
but after years of hard work, we are at the door.
We are a family business and we believe in the ostrich industry
very strongly. We are in it for the long run, not just the
quick dollar. Our ranch and our name are very well known and
respected in the business not only for the quality of birds
we have, but for our integrity. |
