At Emu of Virginia in Fluvanna County, a couple keeps 80 emus – the Australian cousin of ostriches – and sells a variety of products from emu oil, which is valued by some as a skin treatment, to emu meat, which has much less fat than beef (.6 grams vs. 20.7 in a single portion) and eggs, which are sold for decorative purposes. They are green and apparently make great Christmas tree ornaments!

Sue Carr, owner of the Sandy Head Ostrich Farm in Tazewell County, has emus but also raises ostriches, Aracaunas, Turkens and other rare birds. (Aracaunas are sometimes called “Easter egg chickens” because they lay green, blue and pink eggs; Turkens are sometimes known as “naked neck chickens” because of a lack of plumage on that part of their anatomy.) In the farm’s gift shop, Carr offers decorated egg shells, ostrich shell candles, wreaths, sprays, egg shells, plumes, feather dusters, ostrich oil soap, and low-fat ostrich meat. Shoppers can even buy ostrich jerky, which is supposedly a great energy snack.

According to the American Ostrich Association, ostrich production in the U.S. may be second only to South Africa – the bird’s home continent. In a 2002 census of livestock the U.S. Farm Bureau found ranches or farms in all but two states, a total of 1,500 in all.

One reason is that ostrich and emu are cropping up on restaurant menus, sought by Baby Boomers worried about their health. Chefs refer to emu and ostrich as “new meats.” Food critic and author Sam Guigno even wrote about his experience with ostrich, emu and other new meats on his Web site, SamCooks.com.                 
Apparently, it took awhile for the ostrich industry to take flight. “When I first started selling it, people looked at me as if I was from another planet,” a breeder in Pennsylvania told Guigno. “Kids would say, ‘That’s Big Bird we’re eating!’” Now, however, the meat is sought by diabetic and heart patients, as well as other health-conscious gourmands.

The usable meat from the ostrich comes from the upper leg. To prepare it, Guigno slices the deep-red meat thinly like scaloppini, dusts the pieces with flour and sautés them in a hot skillet. He deglazes the pan with wine or brandy to make a simple sauce. Guigno tried both ostrich and emu and found they tasted quite similar – sweet and tender. Ostrich is even served at the Ritz Carlton in Tyson’s Corner, VA, wrapped in apple-smoked bacon.

If the ratites don’t appeal to you, try Kerry's Pulled Bison BBQ. Kerry and Frederick Wildt own the Wild-T-Bison Farm in Richmond County. Kerry’s recipe, posted on the National Bison Association Web site, involves braising five to six pounds of bison (shoulder roasts) in a Dutch oven and covering them with a killer barbecue sauce. The other bison farm in Virginia is Brush Creek Farm, owned by Jim and Jan Politis. (According to the bison breeders’ association, there are about 4,000 bison ranches or farms in the U.S. that raise about 232,000 of the animals.)

In addition to standard cuts – from rib eye steaks to brisket and ground patties – the Brush Creek Farm offers culinary guides such as the "Buffalo Is Heart Healthy Cookbook" and the "Great American Bison Cookbook." As with ostrich and emu, buffalo meat is low in fat. The animals don’t store intramuscular fat, so they are leaner than cattle. A serving of bison contains only 2.42 grams of fat.

Food critic Guigno also tried bison. He found cuts of the meat have a deeper, richer color than beef, and a denser texture. The meat, he says, tastes like well-aged beef, but sweeter. If you prefer to admire rather than eat exotic critters, then you may want to visit one of the Old Dominion’s llama farms. You can even go hiking with the beasts, who hail from the Andes where they are used as pack animals. The International Lama Registry (the extra “l” is omitted in the animal’s scientific name) estimates there are more than 3,000 llamas in Virginia.

Burnt Mountain Llamas in Nelson County raises the animals for show. But llamas have also been used to guard sheep and even as caddies for golfers. Tim and Donna Parkman of Twin Creeks Llama Treks own six llamas and offer hikes ranging from two to five hours that are so popular they must be booked months in advance.

Llamas, apparently have great dispositions. As Tim Parkman says, “We were intrigued by their calm demeanor and stately presence, not to mention their dreamy eyes and cute wooly faces.” Parkman retired to the Shenandoah Valley after a 24-year Air Force career, and wanted to raise animals that wouldn’t end up on the dinner table. After researching cashmere goats and alpacas, they chose llamas and haven’t looked back.

But perhaps the farmer with the most exotic animals in the commonwealth is Jimmie Spady. The 68-year-old former oysterman drives a truck with a license plate that reads “Zoo Man.” Profiled in a Los Angeles Times article earlier this year (“The Nation: Emus, Ostriches and Llamas All Get Along on a Virginia Farm Menagerie,” February 19, 2006), Spady began raising exotic animals on his Oak Crest Farm near Smithfield about 20 years ago when the oystering business began to fail. At first it was just a money-making venture; at one time emus sold for more than $25,000 a pair. Now, he admits it’s a backyard hobby. However, it takes him two to three hours to feed the few hundred animals he owns, which include a zebra; African ostriches; rheas (ostriches’ South American cousins); fainting goats (whose leg muscles freeze when startled, so sometimes the animals fall over); and geese that stand up like penguins. Spady told the Times: “Maybe somebody thinks it’s unusual, but it’s just what I do.”

Spady definitely has company. For some in the Old Dominion, raising exotic livestock is all in a day’s work.