This bird can’t fly but it can run faster than you

“boom boom boom” sound coming from a female emu. The sound, made by the bird’s throat muscles, is often referred to as “drumming” because it sounds as if someone is beating a bongo drum with the palm of the hand. Males often make a grunting sound.

Liberty’s 18 emus join goats, sheep, alpacas and other animals roaming 25 hectares of gently rolling terrain. “This is their forever-farm,” said Martha Boneta, the farm’s owner.

Rikki’s also has a variety of animals, including seven emus, who love eating broccoli from visitors’ hands.

“They are very smart, and they want to know what everything is,” Busey said. “They will think nothing of reaching in your pocket or trying to take your hat off.”

Some emus, such as Liberty’s Lollipop, come to rescue farms from owners who can no longer care for them.

Bonne Chance, meaning “good luck” in French, was found wandering along a road after being struck by a car. Rikki’s acquired a pair of 2-week-old chicks – Peepers and Phoebe – hatched for a school project. Emus grow quickly – by 1 year old they can be between 1.5m and 1.8m tall – and need lots of room to roam.

Boneta said emus always remind her of the Dr Seuss story Green Eggs and Ham because their huge eggs really are green.

The male emu builds the nest in brush piles on the ground or in wooded areas, so the colour helps hide the eggs from predators. After the female lays her eggs, the male sits on them for about eight weeks until they hatch. Then, he raises the chicks, constantly staying by their side for about six months.

Watching as her emus grazed with other farm animals, Boneta

Ham Green Eggs and PICTURES: WASHINGTON POST FATHER RAISES CHICKS: Emu owner Martha Boneta says emus remind her of Dr Seuss’s because their huge eggs really are green.