Male Ostriches will mate with 3 to 5 hens that will lay their eggs in a single nest that the male digs out. Every night the male incubates the eggs and during the day the dominate female will incubate the eggs, which take around 40 days to hatch. The male and the females will help raise the chicks.

Image from preview.redd.it and submitted by b12ftw
image showing Male Ostriches will mate with 3 to 5 hens that will lay their eggs in a single nest that the male digs out. Every night the male incubates the eggs and during the day the dominate female will incubate the eggs, which take around 40 days to hatch. The male and the females will help raise the chicks.

b12ftw on July 28th, 2019 at 22:22 UTC »

Photo is of a male Ostrich guarding his hens' eggs. Males are black and white, while females are more brown and white.

After the chicks have hatched the entire flock will help guard the chicks. Ostriches can be considered "family-oriented" and are ready to start reproducing when they are 3 to 4 years old. Before any type of procreation can occur, there is a courtship that must happen between the male and female ostrich. Males will do an elaborate dance, as seen here: https://youtu.be/ZWnNQH08l2I?t=15

The male will dig out a shallow nest in the ground, where his hens will all lay their eggs. This can create about 25 eggs to be laid and hatched. Ostrich eggs are 5-6 inches, and can weigh up to 3 pounds.

Must-See Video: Two adults escorting their chicks in Botswana: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0ATwgnzfCs

Title and facts sources: http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2012/stauder_abig/reproduction.htm

https://animaldiversity.org/site/accounts/information/Struthio_camelus.html

Pic source is: https://redd.it/bzauod Thanks to /u/DaRedGuy for inspiring this post.

oddly_insightful on July 28th, 2019 at 23:10 UTC »

TIL ostriches are Mormon.

predictablePosts on July 29th, 2019 at 00:14 UTC »

So are there fewer male ostriches or do 2-4 of em get shafted every mating season?