Oudtshoorn ostrich farms

#Oudtshoorn ostrich farms Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo, South Africa, is known as the ostrich capital of the world. Today a visit to one of the ostrich show farms in Oudtshoorn is rated as one of the 20 main tourist attractions in South Africa. These visits are not only very informative, but also highly entertaining.

Ostriches are the only wild animals in South Africa to be domesticated for farming purposes. As early as 1863 a number of farmers in the Karoo and Eastern Cape succeeded in breeding ostriches. After Arthur Douglas built and patented the first incubator for ostrich eggs in 1896, the industry grew rapidly. According to statistics from the former Cape Colony there were 80 domesticated ostriches in 1865, 32 247 in 1875 and 253 463 in 1895.

In 1910 researchers found that better nutrition and selective breeding lead to the feathers of tame ostriches being of a much better quality. By 1913 ostrich feathers were the 4th most important South African export product. The next year (1914), with the start of World War 1, the industry collapsed and ostrich numbers diminished from approximately 1 million in 1914 to 400 000 in 1916 and a mere 23 528 in 1930.