"Will
the REAL South African Black Ostrich Please Stand Up"
- What is the only ostrich that has ever been produced in a commercial market?
- What is the only ostrich that produces the leather that sets the world standard in markets worldwide?
- What is the only ostrich that produces high quality feathers for a commercial market?
- What is the only ostrich that is docile enough to herd down busy highways, in groups of several hundred, on their way to slaughter or different pens?
- What ostrich has been developed through 100 years plus of selective breeding for docility, egg production, feathers, and leather?
If you said the South African Black to all of these questions, then you are right. South Africa, and predominantly, the Little Karoo Valley in and around Oudtshoorn, has had a virtual monopoly on the ostrich industry since the late 1800's. They recognized that a better bird would secure their place in the world market and that is exactly what they did, they created a better bird!
Back in the late 1800's, many different countries were all after the very profitable ostrich feather market. Each of the players realized the first country to produce the best quality feather would control the world market. With this in mind, everyone was looking for the best quality feather and then would try to get the birds that produced it and start breeding a better bird. In 1911, the South African government sent a group of men to find the perfect "Evans type" feather and traced it to Timbuktu deep in French territory. The French government refused the South African group a permit to take ostriches out of the country so they were forced to "smuggle" the birds over the border by walking them over in portable, four sided pens without a top or bottom and carried on each corner by Arab workers. These 150 priceless birds were taken back to South Africa and bred with the birds already being bred there. This was the start of the superior feather bird today known as the South African Black.
Although cross breeding with outside birds started in 1911, domesticated ostrich farming for the purpose of harvesting feathers is recorded as early as 1867 in South Africa. Because the birds had to be handled frequently for preparing or harvesting the feathers, aggressive or wild birds that were hard to handle and likely to injury themselves or workers, were destroyed. Therefore, only the more docile tempered birds with good quality feathers remained to breed. As the years went by, because these docile feather birds were bred back to feather birds, more feather follicles resulted. At that time it just meant that more feathers per bird were available, but years later it would have a tremendously positive effect on the hide quality.
In 1914 the feather market started crashing and many "ostrich millionaires" went broke overnight. The crash was blamed on the declining economic situation, the onset of war, and the invention of the automobile (it was no longer practical for women to wear big hats with ostrich plumes because the hats blew off in the open top cars). Almost all of the domesticated ostriches were turned loose because farmers could not even afford to feed them. Only a few of the most progressive farmers kept the very best of their stock and it is with those birds that the industry was reborn in the 1940's, this time for the leather, feather, and meat.
Because of the selective breeding done in the late 1800's and early 1900's, a docile bird with high quality feathers was developed. Now the birds would be harvested for the meat and hide, so it became very important that a breeding hen was a good producer to replace birds being killed. Therefore, only high egg producers were used for breeding purposes and replacement breeder stock. A consistent type of egg with a good hatchability became the standard
The next step was to take this bird that had been bred for years for docility and feather quality and get a bird that was a consistent size for the hide. Because all of the products; meat, hides, and feathers come off of the body area, long legs and long necks were of no value and just something extra to feed or fence. A deep, heavy bodied bird was bred for, with height not being important. Because of the extra feather follicles resulting from earlier selective breeding, a superior hide had already been developed. The hides from these deep bodied, heavy feathered birds have a large quill area because of the depth of body, and a high quill mark ratio because of the extra feathering. Welcome the modern day South African Black!
After all of those years of selective genetic breeding, kidnapping birds, withstanding market crashes, and inventing new markets why would South Africa give away their investment? The answer is that they don't. Export of any ostriches or eggs is strictly prohibited by the South African Government. There was one source of ostriches on a homeland in South Africa that did not fall under the same laws as the rest of the country. However, in 1994 when Nelson Mandela took office as the President, the Homelands were abolished and absorbed, therefore making them a part of South Africa and hence the same laws. With that source cut off, other African countries increased exports and suddenly, almost everything that comes from Africa is called a South African Black. South Africa is a country; Africa is a continent. They are not one and the same without borders. South Africa is the ONLY African country that spent many years breeding commercial ostriches. Other African countries have caught birds out of the wild in recent years and started breeding them, mainly for export. These birds have not been bred for specific purposes over many years. A limited number of birds were smuggled out of South Africa and wild birds have been crossed with them. Eventually they will be bred up just like the birds in South Africa, however, the South African farmers have nearly a 150 year head start.
If the true South African Black is so hard to get, how come everyone seems to have them and is willing to sell them so cheap? The answer is because most people have something someone sold to them as a South African Black. Unfortunately, to uninformed people, all it takes for a bird to be a South African Black is for someone to say it is. We spent nine years and literally millions of dollars to get the flock of Pure Blacks that we have managed to gather. I only wish it was as easy and inexpensive to get the "real thing" as some people think it is.
The best defense a person has against being sold something different than what they really get is to educate yourself and deal with legitimate ranchers. Be able to go look at the birds. We have had so many calls looking for "black look-a-likes" or "small birds to sell as blacks" from brokers putting together deals for foreign markets. The only criteria for most of these brokers is that the birds are cheap so that they can make more money for themselves, with little or no regard for quality. When a rancher is going to produce this bird for 20 years or longer, foundation breeding stock is the wrong place to save on money. In most cases, the cheapest birds are generally the most costly in the long run.
A South African Black is not a "small feather bird." All breeds have small birds. They are called "runts" and are nothing more than a poor quality slaughter bird. Unfortunately, many of those birds are being sold as "Pure Blacks" to people who don't know better or simply don't care.
There are many factors that make a South African Black the bird of choice. Docility, high egg production, early sexual maturity, premium hide, premium feather, deep body for meat, leather, and feather, manageability in large numbers, and consistent size to name but a few. (See "What is a Commercial Bird") Don't accept cheap imitations!
"What is a Commercial Ostrich?"
For a Common Sense explanation click here.
You can reach Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch at:
Phone : (520) 466-3658 or (520) 466-3265 Fax (520) 466-3634
e-mail - cogburn@c2i2.com
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