A central Queensland family have adopted an abandoned white emu.
A rare white Emu named Eddie found herself adopted in central Queensland by George and Cathy Hoare.
Cathy told the ABC all about life with the five-foot-tall feathered friend.
“She did stand out, she was very white and very easily seen,” Hoare said.
Now, this sweet bird hangs out with cows all day and gets the care that she needs.
Eddie’s dad left her for dead and George and Cathy took her into their home.
“The father had a clutch of eight and he just kept leaving her at a dam,” Cathy said.
“He never ever came back to check on her
“It was a challenge because George said to me, ‘She’s going to die’, and I said, ‘No she’s not’.”
This beautiful bird isn’t the first rescue of the Hoare family but she may just be the most distinct.
Cathy initially raised the albino emu with a number of other orphans:
“I raised her with 10 chickens and she outgrew those,” Ms Hoare said.
“Then we let her out around our house in the paddock and she befriended the poddies.
“She’s very friendly with the horses, dogs, chicks, guinea fowls — you name it.
“She did go away once, but she [came] back and she just stays — she’s literally part of the menagerie of Rockview.”
It sounds like while Eddie may not fit in, she’s found the perfect place to call home.
”She loves swimming, playing in the mud, running around with the poddies, trying to buck up with the poddies, but emu legs don’t go backward so she ends up in a big mess.”
