Meet Goober and Gomer: Life with Emus

We’ve been a little quiet lately—here on our blog, in emails, and even on socials. Life on the farm has been full-force, and if you’ve ever raised anything with feathers and an attitude, you get it.

But now that things have settled a tiny bit, we wanted to share what’s been keeping us extra busy (and slightly winded):

We’re officially emu parents.

Their names? Goober and Gomer.
Yes, like from The Andy Griffith Show. My husband named them. He grew up watching it, and somehow it just…fits their personalities. We now believe they are both females, but we will be happy either way!

What Were We Thinking?

Yes, an actual question we've been asked! We figured, “We’ve done chickens. Emus can’t be that different.” 

Wrong. So wrong.

Goober and Gomer are like chickens if chickens were tall enough to stare you in the eye and had zero concept of personal space. They're fast, nosy, always hungry, and have no shame when running full speed at you if you’re holding food.

The Egg Situation

If you’ve never seen an emu egg, imagine a dark green dinosaur egg straight out of Jurassic Park.

Each one weighs close to 1.5 pounds—roughly 10–12 chicken eggs in one. They’re beautiful and kind of wild to see in person. People love them for cooking, crafting, or hatching.

And when they're not lying? They’re usually running laps for no reason.

The 'If We Have to Be Practical' Side

This wasn’t just a fun “let’s get emus” impulse. We looked into the practical side too:

Emu oil has a serious market in skincare—it's naturally anti-inflammatory and people swear by it.

Emu meat is lean and healthy, with a growing market. That said, finding someone who can process emu isn't easy. Not all butchers are prepped to handle a 6-foot-tall bird that doesn’t take kindly to being wrangled.

Similar to ducks, think instant fertilizer for our flowers! 

And of course, those eggs—which are a conversation starter all on their own.

Emus, Ducks, Turkeys, and Chickens—The Unlikely Crew

One thing we weren’t sure about was how they’d get along with the rest of our feathered crew.

Turns out—they’re fine.
Goober and Gomer do their own thing, the ducks act like they own the place, and the chickens just stay out of everyone’s way.

Nobody gets bullied, but everyone knows where they stand. It’s a bit like a weird little farm sitcom.

What We’ve Learned

If we had to sum up emu parenting in one word: patience.

You can’t rush them. You can’t control them. You just have to learn their rhythm, adjust your expectations, and be ready to laugh—or duck—at any given moment.

Would we do it again?
Yes. With better fencing. And more snacks.

We’re still figuring things out. Still laughing at how ridiculous mini-farm life can be. Still catching our breath.

Thanks for sticking with us while we’ve been quiet. We’ll be sharing more here soon—real updates, real stories, real life with Goober and Gomer (who might just be smarter than we are some days).

Until then, follow us on socials if you want to catch a glimpse of their latest shenanigans.