Dieguito Discoveries
Uncovering the fascinating people
and places in the San Dieguito River Valley
Deborah Johnson
Dieguito Discoveries #1
The San Diego Ostrich Farm
It’s a beautiful drive along San Pasqual Road on the way to
the Wild Animal Park: the hills soft against the blue sky, the lofty
sycamores and palms swaying in the breeze, the ostriches gazing at
you from their full seven feet height.
Ostriches? Welcome to the San Diego Ostrich Farm, owned by veterinarian
Dr. Laszlo Borondy and Jacquie Littlefield.
The Farm is home to four hundred eighty ostriches (and a few of
their smaller relatives, emus and rheas). It’s spread over
fifteen acres in the San Pasqual Agriculture Preserve. San Diego
County makes an ideal home for ostriches with a climate similar to
their native Africa.
Ostriches are curious birds. They eagerly lean over a six-foot high
fence to greet a newcomer. But don’t get too close. It’s
not that they bite, says Dr. Borondy. “They eat anything, screwdrivers,
pieces of rocks, hammers.” Even the sunglasses perched on the
head of a visitor!
The Farm breeds and sells ostriches to buyers in the United States
and around the world for many uses:
•
The meat is prized as a low-cholesterol, high-protein alternative
to beef.
•
Ostrich skin is made into designer purses, boots and jackets.
•
The bones are ground and used as calcium supplements in animal food.
•
Feathers are used in high-fashion clothing and accessories as well
as in the everyday feather duster.
Female ostriches may lay as many as 100 eggs in a season. Restaurants
buy some of them; one ostrich egg is equal to 24 chicken eggs! The
three-pound eggs can also be emptied and painted, etched, or carved
and then sold as decorative items, for as much as $1,000.00 each.
Yes, you could buy an ostrich for yourself, for about $350. But,
Dr. Borondy says, they don’t make good pets. They’re
not very smart, he says, and they’re not at all affectionate.
The San Diego Ostrich Farm does not give tours, but you can see
the stately birds from the road. Just don’t climb over the
fence. It’s trespassing and, besides, the ostriches are mighty
big, more than 300 pounds and very fast, running at speeds of 40
miles per hour!
The San Diego Ostrich Farm is located on San Pasqual Road, about
a mile and a half east of the Orfila Winery.
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