Visitors are given a short introductory talk on ostriches and ostrich farming before heading out to explore the particular farm. You will see and hold ostrich eggs (equal in size and content to 24 chicken eggs), you'll get to touch and if you like feed an ostrich, you'll probably get to see ostrich chicks and you'll even have the chance to ride an ostrich… All the farms also feature curio shops and a restaurant with one of the main items on the menu being ostrich steaks!

The Farms
Which farm should I choose?
Oudtshoorn has four primary show farms (see below). The experience you will get at each of them are more or less the same. While all of these farms cater for tourists they are in fact real ostrich farms, i.e. they're not just a show! You'd be quite safe to simply choose the one closest to your planned route. At Africa Deluxe Tours our preferred show farm is the Cango Ostrich Farm. We like the fact that it is a smallish family-owned and managed farm, probably the least commercial of the three and best of all it is located on the road that links Oudtshoorn and the Cango Caves.

Ostrich Farming
(Source: adapted from Oudtshoorn Tourism Bureau, see link below)
It was as early as 1863 that a number of farmers in the Karoo and Eastern Cape first succeeded in breeding ostriches. After Arthur Douglas built and patented the first incubator for ostrich eggs in 1896, the industry grew rapidly. According the statistics from the then Cape Colony there were 80 domesticated ostriches in 1865, 32 247 in 1875 and 253 463 in 1895.

In 1910 researchers found that better nutrition and selective breeding has lead to the feathers of tame ostriches being of a much better quality than those of wild ostriches. By 1913 ostrich feathers were the 4th most important South African export product. The next year (1914) the industry collapsed and ostrich numbers diminished from approximately 1 million in 1914 to 400 000 in 1916 and a mere 23 528 in 1930. Most farmers grew very wealthy while the boom lasted. In the Klein Karoo (Oudtshoorn) farmers managed to keep birds of better quality.

The period between 1945 and 1974 was characterised by a revival in the industry in the Klein Karoo (Oudtshoorn). The "Klein Karoo Landbou Ko-operasie" (Agricultural Co-op) was established in Oudtshoorn in 1945. From 1947 onwards, feather auctions were held regularly and feathers were the main source of income for ostrich farmers up to 1973/74. The annual income from feathers at the time was R5 million. As from 1959 the "Klein Karoo Landbou Ko-operasie" had total control of the industry.

In the 1920's farmers began making biltong from ostrich meat. The demand for biltong grew so rapidly that an abattoir was built in Oudtshoorn. It was modernised in 1980/81 for the processing of ostrich meat for the export market. Ostrich skins were initially tanned overseas. A tannery has since been built in Oudtshoorn (1970) and all skins are now tanned and coloured locally.

Ostrich feathers remained the largest contributors to the gross turnover of ostrich products until 1975/76 at which time the emphasis shifted to other products such as skins and meat. During the late seventies and early eighties the ostrich industry mainly operated in the Klein Karoo with Oudtshoorn as the centre but since 1985 it spread to the surrounding areas and to the rest of the country and even foreign countries. The ostrich industry therefore moved away from a regulated local industry in the Klein Karoo to a growing international industry.