Baby It's Emu

He was brought back by a Bexhill couple on holiday there and is now the newest member of their brood.

Robert Schifreen and Gillian Stone, who live in Cooden Drive, visited an open farm during their visit in March. On sale in the tea shop were Emu eggs intended to be eaten as a luxury treat...however Robert and Gillian thought otherwise and bought three eggs which they put in an incubator on returning home.

Gillian said: "Fifty days later, to everyone's surprise, this little Emu chick emerged from his big green egg.

"Sadly the other two eggs turned out to be infertile so this little chick is currently living on the upstairs landing in our home...For company he's sharing a cage with Billy, a rabbit provided by Barby Keel's animal sanctuary. Commercial producers of Emus often rear their chicks with rabbits as they seem to get along quite well and provide comfort for the youngsters.

"The little Emu has been named Osborne and if he reaches maturity will be between five and six feet tall."

Gillian hopes that Osborne will be able to live with her other pets on her smallholding in Catsfield. However, she and Rob plan to go back to the Isle of Wight to buy Osborne a companion as emus don't like to live on their own.