Ostriches are not only bred on a farm near Bad Fallingbostel. It's also about the effect of the elegant exotics on people. Because watching the bipeds with the long necks can have a calming effect.
Karin Drohla is fascinated by the young ostrich children in the small outdoor enclosure on the remote farm near Bad Fallingbostel. "It's just great here, the little ones are so funny," says the pensioner from Hildesheim, who took the trip with her husband because she wants to get to know the exotic animals. The amateur photographer was drawn to the unusual splayed feet and the intense gaze. She wants to come back with her grandchildren in the summer holidays, even if it's about 100 kilometers to get there.
"Please do not feed" is written in large letters on the fence. Behind them, the few-week-old furry bipeds scurry about in small groups. With the first summer raindrops, they are quickly shooed into the stable - if they get wet, there is a risk of catching a cold. The astonishingly large day-old chicks sleep behind a pane of glass in the incubator.
In her bachelor thesis, Laura Masu examined the special effect of the two-legged creatures with the long necks on their surroundings. "People come and say that ostriches have a calming effect on them the longer they watch them," says the social worker, who evaluated individual interviews for her thesis. Her explanation for the effect: The elegant movement on two legs has an exotic and calming effect. The 33-year-old wants to do more research so that she can then work professionally with animals and humans. "The ostriches are super attentive," she says.
Christoph Kistner, President of the German Ostrich Breeding Association, can only confirm this observation: "Many of our visitors stay with us for half a day or three quarters of a day and simply watch the animals." According to his own statements, he welcomes 100,000 animal lovers every year on his farm in Rülzheim in Rhineland-Palatinate with 80 adult animals.
Laura Masu gives school classes from the area an insight into the world of Straussenhof in Heidekreis, which her friend Marcel Hambruch has been running for four years. He took over the farm from his parents and switched radically from pigs, 250 sows were sold. "I fell in love with the animals," says the farmer. He started with 20 chicks, meanwhile the herd has grown to 180 adults. Elvis with the famous quiff on his head is the most aggressive, but also brings the best fertilization performance with almost 100 percent, says Hambruch.
Engelberth keeps snapping at Hambruch's hand with his red beak - he just lets it happen and laughs. The calves are also slightly red - a sign of aggressiveness - but Engelberth is considered less dangerous than other contemporaries. In winter, the coloring even goes back completely, then they would also be more reserved. And put on more fat, which they lose again with the change in weather in summer.
"Ostriches originally come from Central Asia and are used to extreme conditions," says Association President Kistner. They are even related to the pterosaurs: "The respiratory system and the long necks are almost identical." The expert reports that traces of bone remains were found in Europe by the end of the last ice age more than 10,000 years ago. They first came to Africa via Europe.
In Germany there are only ten professional farms that are ideal for keeping them in terms of size. "The husbandry regulations are exemplary, we are pioneers there," says Kistner. A maximum of seven animals per hectare is allowed, but unfortunately that is not the case in other countries.
Hambruch keeps his ostriches on the extensive grounds and also slaughters them himself. Which is not easy for him. But he wants to do everything himself and is particularly proud that his animals are never actually sick or need medication. The meat and the large ostrich eggs, which he sells in the farm shop and online, are lower in cholesterol than many other animals.
He is currently building two small tiny houses in which up to four people can spend their holidays on the farm. He himself takes a weekend break at most. "I feel very comfortable here. It was my heart's dream," says the farmer.
