Ostrich Farm

Oudtshoorn in South Africa is the Ostrich farming capital of the world. During the 1880's when ostrich feathers were popular on ladies hats, Oudtshoorn boomed with ostrich farms springing up everywhere.

At the peak ostrich feathers were worth more than gold, weight for weight, and a pair of breeding ostriches fetched over £1,000GBP.

All this came to an end in 1914 with the outbreak of war and ostrich feathers going out of fashion.

Today it is still a thriving ostrich farming area, the feathers being used in feather dusters, the meat being popular, and also as a tourist attraction.