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I had forwarded Roger Mayhorn's riotous account of rare birds in wherever to
my cousin in rural Montana, just for grins. Not to be outdone, she shot back
this response:
You Easterners ARE behind the times. Since the ostrich industry tanked (it
was a kind of pyramid scheme to begin with) California breeders have been
letting them loose, and they've adapted well to the environment. We've
come across small flocks of emus too, running down the road like giant
turkeys. I once watched a guy training his cutting horse on an emu.
Pretty funny sight.
Believe it or not we had a friend who made a great profit selling ostrich
eggs and chicks to other would-be breeders. He tried to interest us in the
business, giving us glowing tales and forecasts of future growth and
fortunes to be made. For once I listened to my inner doubts and sure
enough the breeders market was eventually saturated. As ostrich products
never caught on with the American public, the industry crashed. The birds
weren't worth the price it took to feed them.
