Bogor ostrich farm joins lucrative worldwide business

By Joko Suwarno

BOGOR, West Java (JP): One variety to be considered to your regular dish of steak may be parts of a three-meter-tall, 150- kilogram bird: the ostrich.

It is claimed to have less cholesterol and fat than beef.

That's not all. Shoes, bags and jackets can be made from the hide. Ostrich feathers can be made into high-quality dusters used in the automotive industry, painting, fashionable boas and toys.

Ostrich oil is raw material for cosmetics and the bones can be used in cooking.

"Soup made with bones from an ostrich's throat is more tasty than ox-tail soup," says Kartawijaya Mustapa, a manager at PT Royal Ostrindo, which breeds the flightless birds at a farm in Gunung Sindur area, Bogor.

The claims to the health conscious, particularly in advanced countries, and the potential demand for ostrich feathers and hide makes ostrich breeding look prospective.

"There are big opportunities for exports and the prices are good," Kartawijaya, 33, said.

Royal Ostrindo, which began operations last August, is the first company here dealing in ostriches. Similar businesses have mushroomed in the United States, South Africa, Australia and European countries.

The company has also developed farms in Sumba, West Nusa Tenggara (11,000 ha), Kupang, West Nusa Tenggara (500 ha), Cikampek (600 ha), West Java, and Cibadung-Bogor (20 ha).

"The ranch at Gunung Sindur is only a quarantine and for cultivation of breeders," says Sadikin Djayapertjunda, the firm's operations director. He said the firm's total investment is Rp 53 billion (US$22.5 million).

Kartawijaya says PT Royal Ostrindo plans an annual production of 10,000 to 20,000 ostriches, mostly for export.

Ostrich meat, Kartawijaya said, nearly tastes like high- quality beef. "It is even healthier because its fat and cholesterol content is low, while its protein content is high."

A higher supply is also ensured compared to beef, which is important to the business.

"A cow gives birth to one calf a year, while an ostrich can lay 40 to 60 eggs a year. Fifty percent of the eggs can hatch and the chicks grow into adulthood," says Kartawijaya.

Each ostrich yields 20 to 30 kilograms of export-quality meat, generally of the thighs, with a ratio of 66 percent steak and 33 percent fillet.

"In Italy and Switzerland, the price ranges from $17 to $19 for fillets and $9 to $12 for steak," says Kartawijaya.

PT Royal Ostrindo has imported 350 breeders from South Africa and Zimbabwe.

"South African ostriches are smaller, but lay more eggs. Ostriches from Zimbabwe are bigger and stronger, but produce fewer eggs," says Kartawijaya.

He said a breeder costs between $10,000 to $30,000, "depending on the quality, pedigree and type of the bird and the trader's reputation".

From the initial 350 breeders, there are now about 1,000 on the 22-hectare ranch. They are taken care of by 30 workers, including two expatriates.

It is not difficult to breed ostriches. "In their original environment in Africa, the climate is hot. But in America, ostriches cope well with the winter climate," said Kartawijaya, who graduated in business administration at Southern Oregon State College.

Research is ongoing to maximize the growth, development and egg production of ostriches.

Special treatment is given to eggs as well as chicks, which are ostriches less than three months old.

"In the first three months, the chicks are very susceptible to disease," says Wawan Sutian, a veterinarian of the Animal Quarantine Center at Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta.

The surface of a hatched egg is first disinfected. The egg is then placed into cold storage.

It is later transported to a hatching machine consisting of three incubators, and another hatching machine equipped with two dehumidifier units.

This process lasts about 42 days until the egg hatches.

The chicks are then put into chick pens, where cleanliness is strictly maintained.

The chicks are given balanced nutritious food and are protected from various forms of stress like disease and extreme temperatures.

When three months old, the young ostriches are transferred to larger and more open areas, where no more special treatment is given. Their cages have wooden poles and roofs.

"After three months, ostriches are past the critical period of diseases," says Kartawijaya.

Ostrich meat is at its most tender when chicks are 10 to 12 months, he added.

The weight at this time reaches 100 kilograms, with 40 kilograms net of meat.

Adults are kept for breeding and egg production purposes. Ostriches are productive for 50 years. In the wild, they reach 70 to 80 years old.

Each adult requires 1.5 to 3 kilograms of a concentrated mixture given mornings and evenings. Vegetables for extra protein are added to the concentrate to make the food more attractive.

In less than a year, PT Royal Ostrindo plans to have surrounding farmers participating in the business.

The farmers will each be given three breeders which are four to six months old, consisting of one male and two females, ostrich feed and medicines.

"The farmers only prepare the land and the labor," says Kartawijaya. The firm will then buy the products, which are limited to eggs weighing up to 1.5 kilograms, in the first phase.

"We will purchase one egg for between Rp 100,000 and Rp 200,000," Kartawijaya said.