Farmers turn to wireless data to monitor emu health

Ohio farmers monitored their emus this year to see if males develop health conditions while steadfastly incubating eggs, according to a press release from CAS Dataloggers.

Male emus were anesthetized and implanted with a radio transmitter that sent out data on body temperature and heart rate. One egg in each nest was also outfitted with a radio-transmitting temperature sensor.

Both sensors sent data to a data logger installed in the emu enclosure. Graphs of the data showed farmers whether their emus were in good health while incubating their chicks.

Male emus incubate and protect their eggs until they hatch. They don’t leave the nest for eight weeks, even for food or water. They rise only to roll the eggs. This long fast motivated the farmers to monitor the health of the male emus and their chicks.

Image: (Credit: William Warby via Flickr)