Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Blevins's emus more like family than pets

Emus are large birds that, as adults, average six feet in height, weigh 140 pounds, live to be more than 70-years-old, and can run an average of 40 miles per hour.

These birds, once sold for their high protein, low fat, meat, are the pets of Tom Blevins.

Blevins' farm is about 10 miles out of Prescott in the Fairview community. When approaching his driveway, a sign reading "Emus next 7 km" marks the turn into his home.

Blevins began raising Emus in 1992. He learned about the market of emus while he was still living in Florida. When he received the opportunity to come to Arkansas and buy the farm in Fairview, he had planned to raise Emus. A friend gave Blevins the sign as a going away present.

After moving to Arkansas Blevins said he forgot about raising emus until a friend of his told him about someone selling emus in the area. Blevins said however, at the time, a pair of Emus could go from $25,000 to $30,000. He said he did not buy emus until the market realized the emus could not be sold at the prices they were going for.

Blevins said, "After two or three years it became obvious, it would be too expensive."

Even though the females would lay 6-7 eggs every other day, the market could not support the high prices of emus.

Emus, at that time were being marketed for their meat and oil. The oil between the skin of emus has been used in pharmaceutical products along with makeup.

However, even with the oil, Blevins said, there was "still not a big enough market to make any money on it."

At one point Blevins had more than 100 birds on his farm, however, the profit for the birds was not enough to keep raising them. So Blevins gave 80 of his birds to a friend in north Arkansas.

Blevins said, "I was going to get rid of all of them, but I thought, no, the kids, the church, the scouts, sometimes want to come out to see the birds."

Blevins said several groups in Prescott have been out to the farm to get into the pen with the birds and have their pictures taken.

When Blevins gave away his emus he did not know if he had male or female birds left.

He said there is no way to tell the two apart except for the sounds they make. When breeding season came about, Blevins said his male emus sat and hatched 10 babies. The remaining eggs he gave away to people to hollow out, one person took an egg to eat.

Blevin's himself doesn't eat the meat of his emus, "I find it difficult to eat the meat, you know, when you have a bird named Sarah, it's hard to see her on the table fried up as a steak," he said.

For Blevins the emus are like pets. Pets that, occasionally get out of their pen.

Blevins remembers one time he came home and all of his birds were out of their two acre pen, grazing in his backyard. He explained, however, he simply leaves the pen open with their food inside, and they wander back in.

Blevin's said he has heard there may be a rebound in the market of emus, but plans to only sell the eggs. Blevins' emus may be worth more later on but he plans to keep his emus either way as he explains his emus have "ended up being more of a hobby than a business."

A hobby that will live on many years after Blevins, emus live to be 70, Blevins' emus are only four.