FAQs

Haha, yes! It may sound unfamiliar right now, but in a few years the world will know that ostrich meat is the healthy red meat choice. It is the most delicious red meat, and environmentally sustainable lean red meat one can eat. Just give it a try. If you don’t like it, we’ll be totally floored (and you’ll probably be the first), but we’ll refund your purchase up to $100 (excluding shipping).

It might sound weird, but ostrich is a red meat unlike other birds we eat such as turkey or chicken. While ostrich is, of course, a bird, it’s nutritionally most similar to elk, venison, bison, or a lean beef tenderloin filet. Like beef, it’s high in myoglobin, a protein that turns red when exposed to oxygen. Thanks to that, it’s almost indistinguishable from extremely high-quality beef or bison in color, texture, and taste.

While the USDA regulates ostrich as poultry, it classifies ostrich as a true red meat that can be prepared and eaten just as you would beef.

Ostrich meat doesn't taste like any other bird, and is most often compared to premium beef, bison, elk, or venison. While taste can be very subjective - depending on who you ask - most agree that ostrich has a rich, savory flavor with subtle sweet notes, is not at all gamey, and very similar to beef or bison. The best part is you can use it in any recipes you’d normally use with other red meats, and you’ll have a winning alternative with ostrich.

Most people wouldn't be able to distinguish ostrich from a high-quality filet mignon. But you don't have to take our word for it - the test kitchen chefs and food writers at Food52 couldn't tell the difference!

Ostrich meat doesn't need the fat to produce a big flavor on your palette. This comes down once again to the fact that ostriches are birds, rather than mammals. They store fat differently and the composition of their fat is quite different. So, while fat is flavor when it comes to beef or pork, ostrich has a bold, craveable beef-like taste yet in the meat itself and is 95-97% lean!

This is good news for those folks whose doctors recommend a diet of reduced saturated fat. Ostrich is an excellent alternative to beef because we can continue to enjoy that red meat taste we love, without the additional calories or that food coma feeling we get after eating a big meal of traditional red meats.

Pretty much exactly how you cook any other red meat. Ostrich is extremely lean (95-97% fat-free, depending on the cut), and can be substituted into any recipe that calls for red meat, like beef. Just make sure you don’t overcook it. Due to its lower fat content, ostrich cooks more quickly (on average, 1/3 less time than beef) and importantly, doesn't cook down like other red meats — so, your ostrich steaks, burgers and filets don’t shrink!

Like other lean red meats, you’ll want to use a marinade or rub (for filets) or lightly baste with olive oil (for burgers), so the meat doesn't stick to your grill. We think cooking to medium-rare is best. All it takes is a little salt and pepper to bring out the bold, juicy, mouth-watering flavors. When we can find the time, our family loves to use a sous vide to consistently cook the meat through and then put on that delicious, crusty, seared exterior that we expect from well-seasoned, fantastic-tasting red meat.

For more tips, we have an online recipe section to provide additional inspiration.

You can cook ostrich to whichever temperature you prefer, from raw (ostrich carpaccio is amazing) to well done. Just like beef, our favorite cooking temp is medium-rare, but we have many customers who prefer ostrich meat quite rare. Just make sure you’re following all the safe food-handling practices you’d normally follow with a red meat of any kind.

Ostrich provides a number of health benefits you won’t find occurring together in any other meat. It’s naturally lean (less than 5% fat, although by taste you wouldn’t realize it) and is higher in iron and lower in calories and cholesterol than other red meats. All interior muscle cuts on an ostrich are similar to the most lean, tender cuts on beef or bison. Also, due to the lower fat content of ostrich, it cooks more quickly (on average, a third less time than beef) and importantly, doesn't cook down like other red meats — so, your ostrich steaks, burgers and filets don’t shrink!

While there are certainly less expensive red meats, we believe you get what you pay for with animal protein. We go to great lengths to create what we think is the highest quality red meat in the world. Our goal is to price competitively with other premium red meats, like premium beef, bison, or lamb - and in fact, our products are significantly less expensive than premium red meats from other high quality independent producers.

One thing that is underappreciated about ostriches is that they are extremely difficult to raise - more difficult than any other livestock, to be sure. There has been virtually no research done, and certainly no universally agreed-upon best practices established, to improve our ability to humanely raise ostriches in large numbers. Our priorities are the welfare of our birds and the quality of the products we produce from them. It requires a lot of hard work, the cost of which needs to be reflected in our product costs if we are to be able to invest in the growth of the industry.

Ostrich is an amazing option for consumers who have had to give up red meat for a number of health reasons like high cholesterol or diabetes; in fact, ostrich is endorsed by the American Diabetes Association.

One of the reasons ostrich is widely considered a healthier meat than beef or pork is its comparatively low fat content. The little fat that is present in ostrich meat is primarily unsaturated. Unsaturated fat is considered beneficial fat that can actually improve blood cholesterol levels, ease inflammation, and help to stabilize heart rhythms. While all animal proteins contain some amount of saturated fat (the type that can build up in your blood vessels), a 4oz portion of our ground ostrich contains only about 5% of the recommended daily value of saturated fat, whereas the same size portion of grass-fed ground beef contains 30% or more of the daily recommended value.

Ostrich is a very nutrient-dense food, as well. Ostrich meat is an excellent source of protein, iron, B Vitamins, selenium, and zinc. For more detailed information about the nutritional benefits of ostrich meat, visit our blog.

Individuals with allergies, sensitive stomachs, or IBS, often can’t comfortably eat red meats like beef or bison, but our customers frequently report that “they can eat ostrich and feel great afterward.” In fact, this is how our founder, Alexander McCoy, first discovered ostrich. He was training for a long-distance Ironman triathlon and found that most proteins were upsetting his stomach and inhibiting his training, performance, and overall gut health. He started incorporating ostrich into his diet and noticed dramatic improvements, literally overnight!

One group of consumers particularly excited about ostrich meat are those with Alpha-Gal Syndrome (AGS), which is an allergy to a specific type of sugar molecule found in meat, milk, and other products sourced from mammals, like beef, bison, and pork.

Because ostriches are birds, not mammals, products sourced from them do not contain AlphaGal. This makes ostrich meat an excellent choice for individuals with AGS who miss the flavor and experience of beef, bison, and other AlphaGal-containing meats. Here's what one of our regular customers recently had to say: “My family loves their ostrich meat! I also refer my alpha gal allergy patients their way and they're all pleased!” - Christine D., APRN-FNP

Ostrich is a red meat that doesn’t carry the higher pathogen loads as do white meats like chicken and turkey. Our harvest facility is under USDA inspection 100% of the time. That means staff are under the supervision of a USDA meat inspector at all times, whether they are slaughtering, processing or even just unloading animals.

Moreover, we are completely vertically integrated—from breeding, to egg collection and incubation, hatching, rearing, harvesting, and packaging. Our animals are cared for by our well-trained & caring in-house staff and our meats don’t leave our sight until they are shipped to our customers. This might sound normal, but in the meat industry, it’s almost unheard of. This is one of the many reasons we’re in this business; it’s time someone did it right. We are fortunate that our complete vertical integration - from hatch to USDA harvest - allows us to maintain the highest standards of product quality and food safety.

This is something that grocers and savvy protein consumers have known for some time, but habits are slow to change. Frozen meat is FAR fresher and safer than meat that has never been frozen! Our ostrich is harvested and then quickly flash frozen. Frozen meat stays as fresh as the moment it was packaged and is never exposed to oxygen and potentially harmful airborne pathogens. Whereas meat that is merely refrigerated degrades quickly and is a sponge for contaminants, freezing meats at peak freshness ensures they lose virtually none of their nutritional value right up to the moment you’re ready to eat.

The other problem with refrigerated meat is cold chain logistics. Grocery shoppers never really know where their ‘fresh’ meat has been, who has handled it, at what temperature, and how long it’s been since that animal was harvested. This has always been pretty concerning to us, so we are committed to flash freezing our meat in a sterile, USDA-inspected environment so we can be assured that meat arrives on your doorstep as fresh as it was at the moment of harvest. FROZEN IS THE NEW FRESH!

Yes! If you like other red meats but don’t like ostrich, we’ll be totally floored, but we’ll give you your money back.

We understand being hesitant to spend money on something you've never tasted, but don't let the fear of the unknown stop you from trying ostrich. We stand fully behind our product and are very confident you'll like it. In fact, we haven't had a single customer take us up on this guarantee. But, if someone ever truly doesn't like it, we'll refund their entire order, up to $100.

We will make any and every reasonable effort to ensure you are 100% satisfied with your order. We the take the quality and freshness of our products extremely seriously. As such, our AOF 100% Guarantee covers both the timely delivery and the condition of your items. If either are unsatisfactory, please email us about the problem and we will respond ASAP and determine the course of action to best rectify the situation, including the issuance of any refunds, if applicable.

For non-meat orders, you have 30 days from the date your order was delivered to request a refund or replacement under our AOF 100% Guarantee. Depending on the item & circumstances, you may be asked to return the item prior to receiving any applicable refund or replacement. If the return request is due to no fault of AOF, we may request that the customer pay for return shipping.

FOR MEAT ORDERS, SPECIFICALLY: If your meat is confirmed by the common carrier as delivered in a timely manner to the address that was requested by the customer at checkout, please email us ASAP and we’ll do everything that we can.

You may be eligible to request a refund or replacement under our AOF 100% Guarantee if any of the following apply:
1. You have not received your package and three days have passed since the maximum estimated delivery date;
2. You received an order that is different than expected;
3. The condition of the items received is unsatisfactory; or
4. 1 business day has passed since your returned item was received by AOF.

Please note: If you file a chargeback with your payment provider or bank, you will not be eligible for a refund under the AOF 100% Guarantee.

THE SUMMARY: All non-frozen orders are shipped within 1 business day of being placed and frozen orders are shipped ONLY on Mondays (and occasionally Tuesdays) to ensure they arrive at your doorstep in advance of the coming weekend. The order cutoff for each week's perishable deliveries is typically 8pm Mountain Time Sunday evenings.

When Monday is a federal holiday, the cutoff shifts to Monday evening, and shipments go out on Tuesday, unless the estimated transit time requires us to postpone shipping until the following week. All shipments include tracking numbers. We'll let you know when your package is expected to arrive, and we'll also ping you upon delivery to make sure you receive it.

THE DETAILS: As we endeavor to be as transparent as possible in everything that we do (consumers need to know where their food comes from!) and to prepare our customers to receive perishable shipments in a timely manner, our customers will receive at least four (4) post-order emails from us.

The first email, an “order confirmation”, will be sent immediately when you place your order. All non-perishable orders are shipped within 1 business day and frozen (meat) orders are shipped on Mondays and Tuesdays to ensure they arrive at your doorstep well in advance of the weekend. The order cutoff for each week's perishable deliveries is 8pm Mountain Time Sunday evening, so if you order after this time it will likely ship the following Monday (7 days later). We are a small, family-run operation and do not yet have the resources to ship perishable orders more than 1-2 days per week and appreciate your understanding.

The second email, “Your Order Is On It’s Way”, will be sent the morning that our in-house team fulfills your order and the indicated shipping carrier is in route to pick up your order from our farm. This email will contain a tracking number so you can follow the progress of your shipment.

A third email, “Out For Delivery”, is sent the morning that your package is out for delivery. We remind you of your tracking number again so you can receive custom notifications about its delivery status and a reminder that if the order is perishable to please do your best to collect it as soon as possible upon receipt of the final email.

A fourth and final email, “Shipment Delivered”, will be sent within minutes of your order's successful delivery. If you receive this final email but your order has not been delivered as expected, please contact us as soon as possible and we will get to work to figure out what happened and make it right. If we are not notified about shipment delivery failures on the same day it occurs, our options for resolving the issue with UPS, FedEx, or USPS decrease quickly.

The meats that arrive on your doorstep were flash frozen immediately after harvest and remained 100% airtight and in a state of deep freeze until shipment, at which time they are carefully packaged with sufficient dry ice and renewable insulation to maintain our very high standards of food safety during shipment.

We calculate the amount of dry ice and insulation to use in every package based on the shipping address, shipping service, and the weather likely to be experienced in route while your package is inside a truck or airplane. While we strive to ensure every order arrives fully frozen, carrier delays do happen. The important thing to remember is that upon arrival, as long as the meat is still cold to the touch, it is perfectly safe and appropriate to put right into your freezer to thaw and cook on a future date.

We are constantly working to improve our shipping protocols and while we are confident that our methods, while certainly not perfect, represent an extremely safe and responsible way to get protein to your family. That said, miscalculations can occur. If you are unsatisfied with the condition of your ostrich meat upon arrival, please contact us immediately and we will do our best to remedy the situation.

Unlike factory farmed and mass produced animals, the size of our birds at harvest varies greatly because we allow them to grow naturally, at their own pace, and do not genetically modify or "enhance" them in any way. As such, it's quite common that the package weights may not match product description exactly.

On top of this, all of our processing and packaging is done by hand, at a relatively small scale. Portion-cutting is a challenge for all small producers, and it is extremely difficult for small processing facilities to be accurate to within more than a few ounces, high or low. We do everything possible during fulfillment to ensure the weight of a customer's entire order averages out either exactly as ordered, or to the customer's advantage.

Although online merchants like Amazon go out of their way to make shipping seem free, unfortunately, it just isn’t. However, the good news for our customers is that not only do we not make a dime on the fee we charge to ship your orders, it actually costs us significantly more than we charge on almost every order - not to mention when you spend $250+ and get free shipping! While incredibly convenient and safe, it's just a fact of life that shipping perishable products isn't cheap or easy, and even withstanding the significantly discounted shipping rates we've negotiated with the carriers, we subsidize this cost for our customers to ensure that the shipping fee you pay is a mere fraction of what you'd pay if you went to the post office or UPS/FedEx Store and tried to ship this stuff yourself.

While our primary focus is shipping frozen ostrich meat within the continental US, we do ship select non-perishable orders to Canada & Mexico, as well as Alaska and Hawaii. We're constantly updating and improving our shipping policies to better address our customers' needs and bring shipping costs lower and we'd love to hear from you.

During the spring and periodically throughout the summer and fall, we may be at the Boise Farmers Market (Saturdays, April-October, located at 1500 Shoreline Drive), where we offer a limited selection of our top selling cuts. Please check the BFM website during market season for up-to-date vendor lists. We can occasionally arrange to meet a local customer who places an online order at our market booth. Please contact us in advance to see if this is a possibility.

Unfortunately we do not have the resources or staffing to offer additional local pickups, and we do not conduct retail sales on our ranch property.

All you have to do is pay for S&H and we'll send you one of our popular free stickers. If you want to avoid the S&H fee, simply order any of our other products and we'll hook you up. Just be sure to add the sticker to your cart along with the rest of your order.

The quick answer is that the reason for ostrich’s failure in the US in the 1990s didn’t have anything to do with the intrinsic value of the species/product or it’s potential to become a superior source of animal protein. The industry collapsed because there has been no reliable value chain and no one did the hard work to get the logistics right. Arguably the most critical link of the value chain is the development of consumer end markets, which hasn’t happened until now. That is, no one was turning ostriches into consumer products (packaged meats) at scale in the 1990s. Many people got very excited about the potential market for ostrich but this excitement reached such a fervor that, instead of harvesting ostriches and selling them for meat, ostriches were sold as breeding stock to new ostrich farmers until this “Breeder market” — but not the meat market (because no entrepreneur ever stepped forward to create it) — became saturated to the point of collapse. AOF has built an entirely vertically integrated operation from the ground up, which allows us to control the quality and safety of our products throughout our entire value chain, and now that we've made these investments, we're not going anywhere.

“The industry” is a label that doesn’t yet carry much weight, because it continues to be characterized by small, economically unsustainable farms. Economic viability requires a certain scale of operations and reliable channels through which to sell consumer-ready product. As part of our efforts to develop the industry as a whole, our Founder, Alex McCoy, is an active member of the American Ostrich Association (the national trade association) and while progress is being made, we're starting from a very small base and it will take time for the industry to mature into a staple American protein. We're working hard and will get there one day!

While we recognize the value that organic certification can provide, the fees and complex, time-consuming record-keeping associated with the certification process outweigh the benefits for our small operation at this time. Rather than investing our limited resources into certification, we prioritize directing our efforts towards maintaining sustainable and environmentally friendly farming practices. In fact, our guidelines resemble USDA Organic guidelines significantly. Starting with responsible feed sourcing, pasture management, soil life, and no hormones ever.

We are fortunate to be located in Idaho's fertile Snake River Plain and are pleased to source our feed from and support local farmers. Sourcing local feed isn't just good for American Workers - it's great for the environment, too! When feeds are trucked across the country, the negative environmental impacts of transporting all that feed is staggering. We are very thankful to be able to avoid a high carbon footprint while simultaneously supporting local farmers.

Our commitment to responsible stewardship of the land, humane treatment of animals, and producing high-quality products remains unwavering. We believe that transparency and integrity in our farming methods are paramount, and we are always open to discussing our practices with our customers.

Since our founding in 2013, we have been constantly trialing and reformulating and trialing and reformulating to continually push the boundaries of the healthiest, most environmentally responsible feed choices possible. By far the largest ingredients in our ostrich feeds are locally-sourced spent brewers grain and alfalfa. They are also hormone, and growth stimulant free.

Visit our blog to learn more about ostrich feed & nutrition.

Yes! We go to great lengths to ensure the health and wellbeing of our ostriches. Download the details of our humane handling program.

Humane Handling Standards

We would love to receive visits from our passionate and curious customers, but we are a hard-working, family-owned and operated farm and don’t have the staff or required Idaho state permitting. We hope to add this offering - along with a farm store and visitors center sometime in the future.

We do not sell live ostriches for pets or for breeding stock.

We do not sell whole, edible ostrich eggs. We go to great lengths to hatch every egg that is laid here at American Ostrich Farms. Our core business is the humane production of live ostriches, from which we produce a variety of value-added products, including premium red meats, pet foods, ultra-hydrating cosmetics, and more. In order for eating egg sales to be economical, we'd have to charge the equivalent of a live chick, which consumers most certainly would not want to pay - even for the opportunity to make the equivalent of a 24-chicken egg omelet(!).

No; absolutely not. We humanely produce sustainable livestock and put the welfare of our birds FIRST. We ask ourselves all the time - would I like this if I were an ostrich?

Producing one pound of ostrich requires dramatically less water, feed, and land, and creates far less greenhouse gas emissions and waste when compared to grass-fed beef. Conventionally raised beef cattle, in particular, are one of the leading causes of several forms of environmental destruction worldwide. Ostrich leaves a fraction of the environmental footprint of beef, by using 1/3 the fresh water, 1/50 the land, and emitting less than 1/10 the greenhouse gases per pound produced.

We practice 'beak-to-tailfeather' agriculture, minimizing waste by utilizing as many byproducts of our ranch operations as possible.

Currently, we are able to utilize roughly 90% of the livestock we process. Fat is purified & rendered into cosmetic-grade oil used in our line of all natural hydrating skin care; hides are tanned and made into quality leather products; eggshells & feathers are cleaned and sold for crafts and decor; and we handcraft a full line of award-winning pet treats made with unfertilized eggs, organ meats, trim, tendons, and bones. We compost as much of what's left as possible to produce a quality soil amendment we deploy on the adjacent ranch property. This compost is a significant return of carbon to the soil.

Even the design of our processing facility contributes to our efforts to generate less waste. Sustainable Meats is Idaho's only USDA facility utilizing Bio-Microbics’ underground BIOFAST System to remediate wastewater. The result is effluent cleaner than what is discharged from a typical residential home & the treated water is recycled back into our aquifer. By contrast, conventional processing plants pump wastewater into large holding pools, where the water is lost to evaporation & the remaining sludge must be hauled away.

Sustainability is at the heart of American Ostrich Farms’ mission and we carefully consider each of the choices we make to minimize our impact on the environment. All of the packaging we source is fully recyclable, biodegradable, or reusable.

Our award-winning pet treats come in resealable stand-up pouches made from Kraft paper and #1 recyclable PET.

Our beard oils are packaged in recyclable glass bottles with Monprene droppers. Monprene is a sustainable and recyclable alternative to rubber that is both PVC and latex-free.

The plastic bottles and containers used for our ostrich oil, lip balm, and body balm are reusable and curbside recyclable, made from #5 polypropylene plastic or #1 PET.

Until recently, we packaged our artisan soap in biodegradable film designed to fully decompose in a process that leaves behind water and organic matter that actually makes landfills healthier. Our new soap boxes are made from curbside recyclable paperboard containing post-consumer recycled content.

Orders are shipped in fully recyclable packaging, including corrugated cardboard boxes and recycled, recyclable, reusable mailers. Our eco-mailers can be recycled at grocery store bag drop offs or anywhere plastic bags are accepted. We utilize recyclable or repurposed dunnage (packing materials like paper, bubble wrap, and air pockets), and our packing peanuts are fully biodegradable. Even the ice packs we ship with frozen orders are either recyclable or reusable. Our thermal insulation is made from 100% recyclable #1 PET.

Ostrich oil is an all natural moisturizer. Because it is similar to the oils produced by our own skin, ostrich oil is well-absorbed and highly effective. It's hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic (does not clog pores), which is great news for those with sensitive or problematic skin.

While we don't make medical claims, many of our customers have reported finding that ostrich oil helps heal minor wounds more quickly and with less scarring, reduces itching & redness, soothes sunburn, and eases achy joints. In fact, several customers began using ostrich oil on the recommendation of their physicians, whether to provide relief from rosacea, psoriasis, or even chemotherapy burns.

Although very similar to emu oil, ostrich oil – consisting of over 70% oleic acid and palmitic acid – has higher skin-permeability than emu oil. Ostrich oil's higher concentration of Omega fatty acids - specifically, Omega 3, allows it to better penetrate and hydrate the skin - enabling superior results. This superior delivery of nutrients deep into the skin is an essential property for any skincare product, and for this reason, many Japanese skincare companies have switched from adding emu to ostrich oil in their products to ensure that the nutrimental additives in any cosmetic product is able to effectively penetrate into the deeper skin layers.

100% Pure Ostrich Oil often appears cloudy or white because it is a "whole oil" that undergoes minimal processing (other than rendering to remove any impurities). The "cloudiness" is attributed to the natural fat solids - including the valuable Omega 3 fatty acid - that are so healthy for your skin, helping replenish the natural fat stores in your skin, which creates numerous benefits.

Clear ostrich oil is one of two things: 1) fake; or 2) they have removed all the fat solids using a process called "winterization". If this is done, the producer has removed the most valuable and beneficial part of the oil - the saturated fat solids. It's those essential fats that do such a great job penetrating and hydrating skin.

Desirable saturated fatty acids are what make ostrich oil viscous (thick) at lower temperatures. Ostrich oil has a melting point of approximately 61 degrees F, which is the same as emu oil, and lower than babassu oil. That means that below 61F it will be a semi-solid, and between 61F and 70F, it gradually becomes a medium viscosity liquid. If you keep your home quite cool, you may need to run your bottle of ostrich oil under hot tap water for a few seconds in order to warm the oil enough to easily dispense it from the pump.

Pure ostrich oil has a faint earthy smell that dissipates quickly after application. Most individuals do not mind the scent of ostrich oil, but every nose is unique. If you do not enjoy its natural smell, we offer oil that has been lightly scented with plant-based essential oils. Our balms incorporate other natural ingredients (like beeswax and shea) that have stronger smells than the ostrich oil, making them another good option for those particularly sensitive to the natural scent of pure oil.

Our ostrich oil is an all natural product and we do not add any preservatives. The shelf life is 2 years for the "pump top" bottles if unopened/unused, and should be completely used within 12 months after first use. The airless containers, on the other hand, have better shelf lives because no oxygen gets introduced into the container after you begin using it. So for the airless bottles, the shelf life is 2 years, regardless of whether or not use has begun.

Yes, ostrich marrow bones are safe for dogs to chew. We recommend supervising your pet when they are consuming any type of bone.