We are looking at a home that is next to an emu farm. This time of year, it's cold enough I can't get a good whiff to determine what being downwind of this neighbor might be like and I've never been around emus (or anything larger than a chicken for that matter.)
So, does an emu farm have any particular strong odors we should be aware of? I'm not adverse to farm smells, but I do like being able to be outside in the summer without feeling like I live in the middle of a feedlot. (The birds are just over a fence in the backyard, which would probably mean erecting a privacy fence to keep our dog from going berserk every day...she gets spazzy at the sight of rabbits, squirrels and possums.)
The farm doesn't appear to be particularly well-tended, so I'm not counting on the farmers being too concerned about cleaning up after the animals. (Not judging them, just trying to objectively size up the situation.)
A question about emus
I don't have any experience with that one. Sorry I can't help you.
Terry I know nothing about emu's but I have a friend that lives next to an emu farm here. He has never mentioned having any problem with them and to be honest when I have been to his house I have never noticed any strong smells, in fact I keep forgetting they are there. I have not even seen them as I can remember...Hay
A rather distant neighbor of ours had rheas. I never noticed any smell when passing by their property, but they weren't next door.
The only person I ever knew with a number of Emus did have compaints about odor until she began to use Sweet PDZ (a horse stall product). However, she was in "town" and had non-country neighbors. I'd find out about prevailing winds, and ask other neighbors, if that's feasible. In summer it might make a difference how close the fence is to where you want to sit :)
I have raised Rheas and Emus and did not find their poop to be over powering. That said we had them in very large pens because they will eat a lot of grass and that helped cut the smell and food cost. If you have to feed every thing they eat, that can be costly. I am guessing they are in a pen with no grass because they have eaten it down because the pen was too small.
kenboy, that's probably correct..the fenced area they're in is pretty good sized but there are at least a couple dozen emus in there and the ground is bare.
This property is not in the city limits (hence the proliferation of goat and horse farms in the area), but there is a fairly large subdivision directly behind this property and the adjacent emu farm. So I'm thinking the smell can't be too bad or the existing neighbors would be unhappy. We will probably try to catch a few of the neighbors at home and ask them about noise and smell before we make a final decision.
There's enough room to erect a privacy fence and plant a row of Leylands or other columnar evergreens to screen off the emus without crowding the back yard. (I don't mind living next door to a farm, but this property is NOT a farm and I wouldn't necessarily want it to look or smell like one :-)