Where Emu Oil Comes From

• Emu oil comes from a bird-like creature called an emu, which grows up to six feet tall and weighs between 90 and 120 pounds. Emus are best known for their low-fat and iron-packed meat as well as for their oil. Emu oil has many properties that are believed to improve circulation, help ease arthritis pain, and help prevent sunburn. The oil of an emu comes from a thick padding of fat at the back of the bird.
  
  

How Emus are Raised

• Emus are raised on ranches and allowed to roam free within the ranches borders. Most emu ranches are in Texas, Alabama, Michigan, Oklahoma, and California. More emu ranches are cropping up throughout the United States. Unfortunately for the emu, the only way to harvest emu oil is from a dead emu. Emus are slaughtered in a manner similar to the slaughter of chickens. However, emus are not slaughtered in large numbers, because they generally don't lay eggs until they are two to three years old. Once they start laying eggs, though, an emu can lay 20-50 eggs a season.
  
  

Harvesting of Emu Oil

• The emus are rounded up and taken to the slaughterhouse. Once the emus are slaughtered, the edible meat is removed from the carcass and sent to a meat packing plant. The fat is then separated from the emu's hide.and processed.