Central Oregon Pets Issue Spring 2022

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THE WORLD’S LARGEST BIRD

Ostrich farming in Central Oregon

PANDEMIC POUNDS! And how your pet can lose them

Meet Cedar pup of CO Pets

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DOCTORS BYRON MAAS, TABITHA JOHNSTON, LAUREN HOFFMAN LAURA ACEVEDO COURTNEY MCLAUGHLAN AND BRIAN LOUDIS BENDVETERINARYCLINIC.COM 360 NE QUIMBY AVENUE 382-0741

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bendveterinaryclinic.com 360 NE QUIMBY AVE 382-0741

It’s time again for another Central Oregon Pets!

Our entire team of pet lovers is thrilled to bring you a new edition of this special magazine, filled with lots of furry felines, precious pups and even a goat, and an ostrich or two.

Central Oregonians came out in droves to enter our Cutest Pet Contest, where we selected a cutest pet (or two or three), but also awarded lots of other pets special designations. To tell the truth, looking through the many entries was so heart-melting that we couldn’t select just one! Thanks to everyone who entered the contest.

Inside this issue you’ll also find info on cats and their dental health, on what to do if you find yourself with an overweight pet (yes, even our pets gained weight during the pandemic) and where to go for support after the loss of a pet. We also visited a local ostrich farm to learn more about those quirky birds, and we profile the spay and neuter clinic a local nonprofit just held for street dogs in Mexico.

CENTRAL OREGON PETS Powered by

Editorial • editor@bendsource.com Sales • advertise@bendsource.com bendsource.com/copets

From all of us pet lovers here at Central Oregon Pets (powered by the Source Weekly), we thank you for reading!

CENTRAL OREGON PETS STAFF EDITOR

Nicole Vulcan Yoda and Obi’s mom Favorite CO hangout: Hollinshead Park

ADVERTISING Ashley Sarvis Tucker and Mikko’s mom

Favorite CO hangout: Window hammock and outside chairs

COPY EDITOR CONTRIBUTOR Richard Sitts Hicoo’s dad

Favorite CO hangout: Anywhere there’s a patch of sunlight

DESIGN

Jessie Czopek Cedar’s mom Favorite CO hangout: Swimming in the Deschutes River

ADVERTISING Ban Tat Gracie’s dad

Favorite CO hangout: Our neighborhood park

PUBLISHER

Aaron Switzer Kashi ’s dad Favorite CO hangout: Tumalo

DESIGN

Erica Durtschi Cosmo’s mom Favorite CO hangout: Mt. Bachelor parking lot

ADVERTISING

Renee LeBlanc Ruxin, Jabba, Boyne’s mom Favorite CO hangout: Gooddog!

CONTROLLER

Angela Switzer

Elsa and Miss Chocolate’s mom Favorite CO hangout: Tumalo

REPORTER

Jack Harvel Truman’s dad Favorite CO hangout:

the vein on the right side of his neck

REPORTER

Chris Williams Chole’s dad Favorite CO hangout: Ridge trails at Al Moody Park and Elk Lake

INTERN

Trinity Bradle Murphy and Solo’s mom Favorite CO hangout: Meadow Camp

Spring 2022 | 3

Central oregon pet photo contest We asked Central Oregonians to share photos of their beloved dogs, cats—and even goats—and they sure did deliver! Our pet loving-team enjoyed seeing each and every adorable face, making this a tough decision… but in the end, we created 11 categories and recognized 17 pets. The winning “Cutest Pet, ” Remy, gets a custom pet tag from Metalheads Boutique, a gift from Bend Pet Express and a custom print from High Desert Frameworks. Congrats to all the winners and thanks for playing, readers!

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FAVORITE SNACK: Mini Milk Bone biscuits

CUTEST: Buttercup FAVORITE SNACK: Alfalfa

CUTEST: Rose FAVORITE SNACK: Freeze dried liver

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MOST CATITUDE: Angel

FAVORITE SNACK: Temptations

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FAVORITE SNACK: Popcorn and pepperoni

MOST PHOTOGENIC: Prince

FAVORITE SNACK: Mirror Pond Pale Ale

Spring 2022 | 5

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BEST BUDS: From left, Juniper, The Rat and Quincy FAVORITE SNACK: Pizza, scrambled eggs, chicken skin

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Spring 2022 | 7

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Losing the Pandemic Pounds

Pets, like their humans, tended to gain weight during the time of social distancing.

Here are a few ways to help your pets get back to a more ideal weight.

By Nicole Vulcan The shock was real—but not entirely unexpected—the first time we brought our little (formerly) 11-pound rescue mutt to the vet after the pandemic had started. Three pounds is not a big weight gain for an adult human, but for this little guy, it was a lot. I guess all those evenings opting to watch “Dogs” on Netflix instead of watching IRL dogs at the dog park had caught up with us all. In the most loving way possible, our vet instructed us to put the dude on a diet, pronto. And he’s not alone: More than a third of people with pets say their pets became overweight during the pandemic, according to a 2021 survey from Hill’s Pet Nutrition, with more than two-thirds of those people getting defensive when learning about the issue.

Keeping your pets’ weight in check helps them lower their risk of kidney and respiratory disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and even cancer, reminds the American Veterinatary Medical Foundation.

In some cases, it can add years to their lives.

“Your veterinarian has your pet’s best interests in mind, and his/ her recommendations are based on a commitment to your pet’s good health,” the AVMF suggests on its website. “It’s not about you; it’s about your pet’s health.”

Below are some of tips vets recommend for helping pets lose or maintain a healthier weight.

First, work with your vet to determine how much food—if any— to cut from your pet’s diet. For us, our vet gave us a specific recommendation of when to cut rations, and by how much, and it was less than I may have cut if I would have been guessing.

Keep pets’ food away from each other. In our case, our little dog was getting heavier at least in part due to the addition of a new “pandemic puppy” in our lives. The older dog was now able to graze on the puppy’s food when we weren’t paying attention—something we had to learn to correct. In our case, we were able to put the puppy’s food higher up, on a stool, where the smaller dog could no longer reach it.

Agree as a family not to feed extra food or treats.

Keeping a healthy weight requires the help of the whole family, the AVMF reminds.

Get more active, together. People in Central Oregon already get out and about quite often, but finding more ways to include the dog—or even that adventure cat—on your regular outings can be good for everyone. Because let’s face it: Pandemic weight gain has come for many of us… not just the pets.

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Final Farewell

It’s never a good time to say goodbye forever to our beloved pets

By Richard Sitts Unsplash

“…Often when their bodies are worn out, broken or spent, it is an act of kindness we can give them to help them pass comfortably without anxiety, pain or additional suffering.”

—Dr. Byron Maas Besides burial, BVC also works with cumstances, this is the best choice for a pet, and we are helping alleviate on- pet cremation services in case that’s what going suffering. Certainly, knowing that the family desires. For our sweet Gallup, we have done everything we can helps the BVC staff posed him in a small cardboard coffin as if he were curled up taking us logically to process death and the loss, but the hardest is to com- llup, a very good boy. Cred a nap; it was the last, fitting, view it R Ga i ch P fort a client as much as RI ar that we would have of him.

Amanda Wheeler is the possible as they process founder and director of the the loss.”

Rawley Project, a pet loss Many euthanasia support group inspired by procedures are perher own personal strugformed as house calls, gle with the loss of her or can take place in beloved dog Rawley many other locations. Maas years ago. “There is alsays one of the most ways this underlying sense memorable ones he ever that the loss of a pet shouldn’t did was in the rain in a cembe as difficult as the loss of a huetery near Pilot Butte, where man, but for many of us that just simply the dog loved to walk among the tombstones. “That’s where he was freed from isn’t the case,” Wheeler said in an email. his body to go play on more happy adven- “Whether recently or years ago, the sadness and pain can be overwhelming. tures,” he said.

Another memorable one was a house Time doesn’t always heal, but connecting call where a virtual family gathering was with others can help.”

The pet loss support group meeting set up on FaceTime with kids, moms, dads and stepfamily, “offering comfort schedule is 7-8pm on March 29, June 28, and love for each other and to the dog that Sept. 27 and Dec. 6, in the upstairs conference room at the Bend Veterinary Clinic. kept the family together over the years.” d

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Over New Year’s Eve weekend, our 21-year-old boy cat, Gallup, had pretty much stopped eating and was having trouble getting around on his own. By Sunday night, wife Floy and I knew it was time. I emailed the vet office and Dr. Byron Maas at Bend Veterinary Clinic had us come in on Monday morning. We sat in the car and caressed Gallup, cradled in a blanket, saying our goodbyes, until it was time to take him in. Gallup was calm and did not appear to be in any pain, leading us to briefly question if we were doing the right thing, but the hard reality of his condition meant it was the right decision. We knew the day would come, but the realization could not stem the tide of tears. Gallup always had a voracious appetite for food and an insatiable love for life in general, but that passion was just no longer there. Maas and the BVC staff could not have been kinder and more compassionate. We remained with Gallup throughout the procedure and buried him in the backyard that afternoon.

“There is never a good time to say goodbye forever to your best friend—and most of the time people only know that it’s time at the exact moment it needs to happen,” Jessica Woodmansee, digital marketing and administration assistant at BVC, wrote in an email. “There’s just no way around crying with people at this job unless you’re a cyborg, so no one really holds back the tears here.”

Maas revealed that he was a mortician and funeral director before becoming a veterinarian, so he has dealt plenty with the death of people and animals.

“I think the most important thing to understand is that life is not forever, and that every pet loves faithfully and unconditionally, but often when their bodies are worn out, broken or spent, it is an act of kindness we can give them to help them pass comfortably without anxiety, pain or additional suffering,” Maas said in an email. “As you can imagine, this is a very emotional part of our job. I approach it with the philosophy that given the cir-

Spring 2022 | 11

Dog Docs Return

Central Oregon once again has options for emergency veterinary care, after months without

By Jack Harvel

For a couple months of last year, German Shepherd like this may have been out of luck when experiencing a medical emergency. Since then more options have emerged.

In May of last year we reported that Bend had lost its only 24-hour emergency veterinary care when Bend Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center cut its hours. A staffing shortage, burnout during COVID-19 and patient overload from more people adopting pets during the pandemic all contributed to the crisis, and it left a gap in care for emergencies that regular vets had to fill.

From May to September that was the only option available to Central Oregonians, until Central Oregon Veterinary Referral Center of Central Oregon started providing 24/7 care. Before transitioning into 24/7 coverage, the clinic was open from 8 am-midnight and 24 hours on the weekend. The center credited its ability to expand into a 24/7 practice to a massive increase in staffing. Since its opening in May of 2018 it’s grown its staff from 12 to nearly 100.

Some veterinary practices offered oncall hours to clients, but that still left out people who recently moved to the area and tourists’ pets that experienced an emergency medical incident. Bend Veterinary and Emergency Center re-tooled its hours since the story was reported, and now cover critical nighttime hours, 5pm8am Monday-Thursday, and 24 hours Friday-Sunday, when regular vets wouldn’t be in their office.

The ability to get care for pets is definitely welcome for animal lovers in Central Oregon, but the veterinary shortage remains a problem. Central Oregon Veterinary Referral Center reported that they’ve seen caseloads increase from out of towners in Portland, Eugene, Seattle and Northern California. Just a few months ago Central Oregonians were in the same boat, and the closest 24-hour clinics were in Southern Oregon or Eugene.

Rescue. Refuge. Rehome.

A local program brings low-cost spay and neuter services and a refuge for the pets of people in crisis

By Richard Sitts

Amanda Wheeler is the Chief Wagologist, founder and executive director of The Rawley Project, a relatively new nonprofit in Central Oregon offering services for animals in need. We chatted with its founder for this issue of Central Oregon Pets.

Source Weekly: What are the Rawley Project and Fixbend, and what is the mission of each?

Amanda Wheeler: I founded The Rawley Project with the desire to find homeless and abandoned dogs homes. Additionally, we have two subprograms, our refuge program which provides protection and refuge for pets with humans in crisis and FIXbend, which is an initiative to bring low cost spay/neuter, vaccine and microchip services to our community. We work closely with the Companion Animal Medical Project, who works with the unhoused community to bring these services to that community.

SW: What is the current state of spay/ neuter efforts in Central Oregon?

12 | Central Oregon Pets Issue

Credit Amanda Wheeler

AW: Due to the closure of the Humane Society of Central Oregon’s Bend Spay Neuter Program there are currently no permanent, low-cost sterilization vaccination or wellness options available.

Because of this, the animal population is spiking and disease is on the rise due to a lack of accessible care. Most private practices are booked out months and months in advance, and also offer a price point that is out of reach for many residents.

There is an intense need and incredible demand for these services.

SW: Is there anything pet owners in Central Oregon can do to help?

AW: Yes, volunteer with us!! We of course need donations and sponsorships, too, but this is a community issue and we want our community’s help! Additionally, we utilize volunteers for everything from administration to caring for the animals after surgery to clean up. There is a spot for anyone interested in helping us. Our next clinic is March 26 at Companion Pet Clinic in Bend.

Rawley Project Founder Amanada Wheeler hangs out with some of her friends.

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Precautions for Plants and Pets

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Kish and his dog Hygge (Danish for a mood of coziness and comfort) in Somewhere That’s Green.

Plant and animal purchases have boomed during the pandemic because of the nurturing comfort that both can provide.

John Kish, owner of the Bend plant store Somewhere That’s Green, is obviously a fan of indoor plants, believing they can be a soothing trial run to see if people are ready to handle the responsibility of pet care.

“I think people mainly need to nurture, and I think [plants are] something that’s not as high-stakes as a kid, or even a dog.” Starting with a plant can help expand those nurturing instincts to better prepare for the sympathies required in taking care of larger, more dependent animals.

Some people may crush the plant trial run, turning their living spaces into mini greenhouses, and then decide it’s time to adopt a cat, or two. But they may have overlooked the dangers that could exist in what look like harmless plants. Kish provides some tips about toxicity, play hazards and touching prevention to ensure plants, pets and people can live comfortably together.

Ways to keep pets away from plants Place preventatives around the base of the plant: Some people use herbs to keep pets away from a plant, Kish says.

“Some people use cayenne pepper, which I don’t suggest because pets can get blinded with pain in their eyes,” he advised. Instead, Kish recommends friendlier sprays that can be used to deter pets from interacting with plants.

Shelves The higher the plant is off the ground the less contact they’re likely to have with pets, especially dogs and puppies.

Forks John says forks can be “stabbed into the soil line and that will keep pets from using the planter as a litter box.”

Natural barriers Adding moss or fun decorations to the soil can prevent interaction and provide more soil protection.

Safe plants, with potential annoyances

Toxic for pets Two toxic chemicals for pet owners to watch out for in popular household plants are latex and those containing oxalate crystals.

Latex Higher in toxicity.

Common within the Euphorbia, or Spurge, family, which includes popular desert plants and succulents. Kish says with desert plants that “the latex is formed for extreme environments… they live in an extreme environment, creating extreme defenses.”

When ingested, latex can have a multitude of effects, but is more likely to cause stomach aches.

On the serious side, it can cause seizures and potentially death in extreme circumstances.

Oxalates Found in many plants in the Araceae family that includes many lily variations and broad-green-leafed plants, such as Dieffenbachia and Philodendron.

Animals release the toxic oxalate crystals through either biting or chewing on the leaves.

Common side effects include oral issues such as drooling, oral pain, vomiting and decreased appetite.

Credit Chris Williams

Spider plants Their fun lanky leaves may be a bit much fun for cats and puppies.

Constant pawing and playing with smaller house plants could lead to a premature plant catastrophe when it winds up spilling on the living room floor. Kish recommends “big, broader leaf things—they tend to not like that.”

Plants with large planters Cats may feel that one litter box isn’t doing the job.

Somewhere That’s Green places pet-friendly labels on its plants to ensure safety.

Spring 2022 | 15

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We Hope You Never Need Us

The Pet Evacuation Team (PET) exists to serve people and animals in crisis. Emergency animal evacuations and sheltering during disasters are critical to our community and save lives. PET is at the ready. We work in partnership with the Red Cross, law enforcement and local emergency services during disasters, and have provided crucial resources to individuals with animal/ pet-related emergencies for over 20 years.

Your pets count on you to keep them safe. So be prepared.

FIND OUT HOW AT PETEVACUATIONTEAM.COM 16 | Central Oregon Pets Issue

A Spay/Neuter Clinic in the Yucatán Bend’s Street Dog Hero teams up with nonprofits in Mexico to treat over 400 pets

By Nicole Vulcan Dogs and cats can be our faithful companions—but left unchecked and uncared for, their populations can quickly get out of control. A single unspayed female and her puppies can produce 67,000 puppies in just six years, says Bend-based nonprofit Street Dog Hero, with a single unspayed cat and her kittens able to pro-

duce a whopping 420,000 kittens.

On top of its work finding homes for dogs around the world, Street Dog Hero recently completed a free spay and neuter clinic for some 415 cats and dogs in Chetumal, the capital city of the state of Quintana Roo, on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. The two-day clinic allowed local

SDH collaborates with rescue partners local to the areas it works in, in order to rescue street dogs and bring them to Oregon. Once stateside, the dogs are fostered in homes and then adopted by “Furever Families.” Learn more about the organization at streetdoghero.org.

people to bring their pets in for sterilization, along with serving street dogs and cats. The clinic also treated animals’ other needs, including flea and tick removal, nail trimming and wound care. Street Dog Hero has plans to return to other communities in Mexico throughout 2022 to offer more free spay, neuter and wellness services.

People with pets were invited to bring their pets for the free spay and neuter services—arriving with their pets in makeshift carriers fashioned out of items from around their homes, including cardboard boxes, clothes hampers, purses, milk crates with oven rack lids and even canvas totes.

A single ale unspayed fem ies and her pupp ,000 can produce 67 puppies in just six years.

After surgery, people could sit with their animals until the pets were recovered enough to go home. Between waiting for surgeries, undergoing the procedures and recovery time, some people and their pets spent all day at the clinic.

Street Dog Hero sent a dozen staff and volunteers to run the two-day clinic in Chetumal, getting help from 20 veterinarians and technicians from Planned Pethood International Mexico, SDH’s rescue partner Costa Maya Beach Dog Rescue and dozens of other local rescues and volunteers, including Pancitas Felices, Voluntariado del CAC, Huellitas Acción, Habla Por Mi and Soy Tu Voz.

Spring 2022 | 17

18 | Central Oregon Pets Issue

Caring for Cats’ Chompers A chat with a vet about feline dental health

By Nicole Vulcan

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can prolong the health of your pet’s teeth.

COP: What are some of the issues cats encounter with their teeth?

SK: Just like with humans, cats develop gingivitis and tartar over time, which are uncomfortable, and can result in local and systemic infections and inflammation, as well as result in quicker progression of damage to tooth roots and bones within their jaw. Resorptive lesions are the most common dental problem we see, which occurs when a cat’s body “breaks down” portions of their teeth (similar to a cavity, but without a known cause)—these are very common and very painful, requiring dental extractions to relieve the discomfort. There are a variety of other diseases such as a terrible condition called stomatitis (general severe inflammation and ulceration of the gum tissue), oral masses, and more, that require a thorough look under sedation by a trained veterinarian to diagnose and treat.

COP: My cat has some kickin’ breath.

Is this a sign that they need dental care?

SK: Most of the time, yes! Especially if it has been longer than a year since their last dental cleaning (and even more so if they are over the age of 2 years old and have not had one yet). Additionally, if there is ever a sudden change in your cat’s breath, or in their ability to eat their food, or a new sensitivity to being pet around the face, etc, schedule an appointment with your veterinarian ASAP to make sure there is not a painful dental condition affecting your pet’s health.

COP: What are some things that surprise humans about cats’ dental health?

SK: Mainly that cats need regular dental care, just like humans! We often hear “my cat never needed this 20 years ago!” when really, your cat likely would have benefited from regular oral care back then, we just didn’t know better. To the detriment of our feline friends, for many years owners and much of the veterinary community essentially “ignored” preventative dental care for cats, but now that we “know better,” it is time to “do better.”

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Dr. Stephanie Kadasi is co-owner and the medical director of Feline Fine Cat Clinic, a cats-only clinic where cats can get their health needs addressed, without the presence of those sometimes-pesky pups. For this edition of Central Oregon Pets, Dr. Kadasi talks about the importance of cat dental care.

Central Oregon Pets: Why is dental care important for the health of my cat, and at what age should I start dental care?

Dr. Stephanie Kadasi: Regular dental care is very important for kitties, both in terms of their overall level of health and their daily quality of life. When not addressed, dental disease results in a higher overall bacterial load in a cat’s body, resulting in more accelerated damage to other organs, especially the heart and kidneys. Additionally, cats are prone to often unnoticed painful dental conditions that they like to “hide,” and without regular dental care, cats with these ailments suffer silently (or sometimes not so silently!), which can negatively affect their relationship with their owners and other pets in the house, as well as resulting in unwanted behaviors such as peeing outside of the litter box.

Exact recommendations will depend on your veterinarian’s approach, and your individual pet’s needs. For most of our patients, we encourage a proactive approach to dental care, including starting annual dental cleanings under anesthesia by 2 to 4 years of age (sometimes earlier, sometimes later, depending on the patient), in order to keep their teeth in tip top shape, rather than following a reactive approach involving waiting until the dental disease is so severe that the patient needs dental surgery urgently due to oral pain.

If your pet will tolerate routine wellness dental care at home, there are also a few options you can discuss with your veterinarian, such as tooth brushing, water additives and oral gels. Home care will not replace the need for professional dental cleanings under anesthesia; however, it

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Spring 2022 | 19

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Farming the World'’s Largest Bird

A Central Oregon farmer seeks to revive a farming trend that can be an alternative to beef: Ostriches

By Jack Harvel Credit Jack Harvel

Calling this animal a pet may be a stretch, but between Bend and Redmond, 17 ostriches roam around a hatchery.

The 7-feet-tall birds are in their mating season, and deep in the pasture you can spot the males dancing trying to grab the attention of female members of the herd.

Soon, the farm will be full of chicks that’ll live in a 100-degree greenhouse before being sold to other farms or slowly ingrained into the herd. With the right nutrition ostriches can lay up to 60 eggs during a mating season, but about 25 will actually be viable with the right nutrition.

“Historically, in the U.S.—and this is still true for farms that are using conventional feed—that numbers five or six hatchlings per hen per year,” said Michael Lehman, owner of Central Oregon Ostrich and vice president of the American Ostrich Association. “On our program we do about 25.”

Ostriches became a fad in farming in the ‘90s, and back then there were a handful of farms in Central Oregon. The trend didn’t last long, though; farmers didn’t know how to raise ostriches effectively, and there wasn’t an infrastructure for getting them to market. When Lehman started the farm in 2009 he took those lessons to heart.

“The reason the ostrich boom failed the first time was for lack of knowledge about the nutritional requirements for ostriches, and they’re nothing like conventional livestock,” Lehman said. “They’re desert dwellers; they get most of their hydration in the wild from the plants that they eat, they don’t really have water to drink. So their physiology is really designed to survive and thrive in really harsh desert.”

With a good environment for ostriches in place—minus the snow, which fortunately rarely happens on the farm and melts quickly when it does, Lehman then needed to find a good food source. There’s no shortage of what he ended up using in Central Oregon: spent brewery grains.

“We just happened to be in this business cluster of breweries,” Lehman said.

“It’s a waste product out of the brewer-

Top: An group of ostriches approach their nest, with a male extending his wings out to appear larger.

During mating season male ostriches try to impress females, who ultimately decide who they want to mate with. Bottom: Though they’ll grow up to be over 7 feet tall, chicks stand at just 10 inches tall and weigh about 2 pounds. A baby ostrich will grow 10 to 12 inches a month for the first six months of their life.

ies here locally. Most of the firms that I work with use our feed program, which is based primarily on brewers’ grain, which is almost a free feed stock. And you end up with high productivity and low feed cost, which tips the balance.

That’s what killed the industry the first time.”

The first ostrich boom was also damaged by farmers treating the birds like conventional livestock.

Early ostrich farmers put ostriches in small paddocks and tried to breed based on characteristics. The problem is that small grazing

areas, conventional breeding strategies and keeping them from a herd can get ostriches stressed.

“None of that is a naturalistic way of managing birds. And so we run large colonies and large paddocks they go out and do their thing, they develop their own social structure which keeps them happy,” Lehman said.

“Most of ostrich behavior is all about that social cohort that they grow up in. And when you’re raising them, the best way to raise them, is to raise them in a social cohort that never changes.”

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If they feel under threat, they’re all together all at once, and they’re gonna run away,” Lehman said. “And if they can’t run away, they’re gonna turn around and run right at their predator. He might get one of them, but he’s gonna get stomped along the way.” —Michael Lehman In the summer these cohorts stick together tightly, but in mating season they spread out to do their own thing. A couple ostriches might develop guardian roles and are the first to greet anything that steps foot in their pasture.

“There’s a little bit of posturing within that group, but for the most part, they’re all just a bunch of happy soldiers,” Lehman said.

They can be terrifying soldiers if need be. Their height, speed and intimidating talons can be lethal to predators, especially with their pack behavior.

“One of their defense mechanisms in the wild is that social mechanism. If they feel under threat, they’re all together all at once, and they’re gonna run away,” Lehman said. “And if they can’t run away, they’re gonna turn around and run right at their predator. He

might get one of them, but he’s gonna get stomped along the way.”

Despite this, Lehman said it’s pretty easy to manage the birds, especially if they’re in a natural environment and fed right. He said he’d rather deal with ostriches than a bull, and he’s always got a guard dog who has his back when close to the birds. Beef also happens to be ostriches’ biggest competitor in the meat business. Ostrich is also a red meat, but much lower in fat. Part of Lehman’s excitement with the business is that it offers an alternative that conserves water, produces a fraction of the methane of beef production and needs much less land.

“You can do a really successful productive ostrich farm on 30 acres,” Lehman said. “You can’t do that with cattle.”

Credit Jack Harvel

Michael Lehman reaches out to touch a female ostrich as his one-year-old guard dog in training Buzz keeps a watchful eye on the bird. The inexperienced dog is a bit more jumpy than Lehman wants, but the birds are mostly unfazed by the pup.

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