Outback Emu Ventures Is Definitely For The Birds

To say the Morgan Acres home of Dennis and Jamie Dahlke is for the birds would be a compliment.

To be specific, it’s for 25 pheasants, six jungle fowl, seven Cape Baron geese, one black swan, and 31 emus.

To accommodate the birds the couple has converted their acre lot at 7802 N. Crestline to a habitat with cages, sheds, lights and a backyard electrical system to provide heated water. Their home’s basement has incubators for emu eggs. The couple has a monthly utility bill of $200.

Inside the house, birds shot and mounted by Dennis hang from the living room ceiling.

Jamie, 44, a social security adjudicator, grew up in Colville.

Dennis, 48, is a North Side native and Shadle Park High School graduate. He learned taxidermy, did some wildlife photography and got an education degree.

Interested in birds since childhood, Dennis remembers getting his first field guide at the age of 10.

He’s also been an avid outdoor photographer and has counted birds near downtown and Gonzaga University for the Audubon Society’s annual bird count every year since 1964.

Recently, his passions evolved into a family business, Outback Emu Ventures.

He sells neck, rump and tail feathers from the exotic birds to people who specialize in tying flies for flyfishing.

But most of his efforts are put into the emus.

Though the market for emus has suffered lately from over supply, Dennis believes the birds remain a good business investment.

Emus are a rugged breed that gain almost all of their adult weight - 90 pounds - in their first 15 months. A breeding pair - the birds are monogomous - can have as many as 20 to 40 eggs a season and live about 25 years.

“There’s not much you can do to an emu after the first two or three months,” Dennis said.

Keeping the bigger birds for breeding, selling chicks, and raising the others for slaughter can net a decent living, said Dennis. More and more people are finding that out, he added, and the next challenge is creating more of a market for the meat.

Prices now are reasonable and Emu chicks sell for $125 each and adults sold for slaughter go for $5 a pound. A year of food may run $125. The price of an emu breeding pair two years ago was as high as $15,000.

“We’ve produced a lot of birds in this country, but there’s still a pretty good profit margin,” Dennis said.

The birds taste like steak, yet contain lower cholesterol than fish.

“What you do with emus is you eat them. They’re the low-fat diet of the ‘90s,” said Dennis.

Part of the value is also in the birds’ fat, which is used by cosmetic companies for lotions, oils, shampoos and conditioners.

The couple has other interests: they crew for a hot air balloon and are part of a club interested in gems and minerals.

The Dahlkes’ home overlooks the vacant land that the city annexed two years ago. Four developers are planning new homes, apartments and commercial space.

They are fearful that as the city moves closer to Morgan Acres, their birds and their lifestyle will be threatened.

Raccoons, pushed out by backhoes, have already killed several birds.

Though the emus are quiet, some of the pheasants let out wild, primordial screams during mating season.

Jamie said there’s not much she’ll be able to do to help the new residents if they complain.

“We didn’t invite them,” she said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo