Farmer Julie Brown got into emu farming for the same reason she’s getting out of it – arthritis.

The transdermal oil extracted from the animals has helped her with pain she has carried since age 15, but over time the arthritis has become too much to take care of the strange prehistoric birds that frolic and play on her grassy property.

For the last 15 years, she has raised the fleet-footed animals, first in the Blue Mountains near Walla Walla and then on her Jackson Highway farm between Chehalis and Napavine.

Now, due to her health, the 63-year-old says it’s time to let go of the six breeding pairs and their dozen or so babies.

"It’s hard to give them up but they need to go to somebody who can take care of them," Brown said, adding that they will go to small farms in Lacey and Adna. "It’s going to be at (the emus’) expense if I go another year, and I don’t want to do that. I respect these animals too much."

Brown harvests the babies and ships their oil to companies that mix creams for beauty products, body pain and even energy supplements.

"It’s got a lot of anti-inflammatory properties that have helped me immensely," Brown said, likening its health benefits to other unsaturated fats like omega-3 fish oil and flax seed oil. "We have so many products in our medicine cabinets now that I have replaced with emu oil. It is just amazing to me that this stuff could take the place of all of these things."

The difference with emu oil, Brown says, is the transdermal aspect.

"It gets through all the layers of the skin," she said.

Emus, which grow up to six feet in height, roamed Australia 80 million years ago and were important to native cultures for meat and leather, along with the oil. Scientists attribute their longevity as a species to their ability to run from predators at speeds up to 40 mph.

Brown said many emu farmers in the U.S. expected a boom that never came to fruition. Those hoping to make thousands off emus have now found they’re worth only $75 to $80 apiece, but she was never in it for the money, she said.

"They’re just fascinating birds and it’s so fun to watch them grow," Brown said.

Emu Facts

• Emus have lived in Australia for over 80 million years
• Emus are members of a family of birds including ostrich, rhea, cassowary and kiwi
• Emus have flat breastbones and no wing muscles, preventing them from flying
• Emus store a pad of fat on their back, making the rest of their body very lean to provide healthy red meat
• Emus lay eggs every three to five days during breeding and laying season, October through April in the U.S.
• Emus can run at speeds up to 40 mph

Dan Schreiber: (360) 807-8239

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Copyright (c) 2009, The Chronicle, Centralia, Wash. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.