Picacho Peak, Arizona - Rooster Cogburn's Ostrich Ranch

A few acres of land, half way between Phoenix and Tucson, but fun still for a quick stop. Five dollars gets you a cup of food to feed deer, ostriches, small mules thru a fence, and admission to a walk-in cage full of Australian birds called "lorikeets;" think parakeets with technicolor plumage. You can walk into their enclosure, about 20 feet by 50 feet. I just sat down on the ground and opened a little tub of nectar fluid, and in a minute I had ten of these guys sitting on my lap, my shoulder, all looking for a snack. Lots of fun feeding these little guys.

One must also respect the ostriches, which stand over six feet and 300 lbs, and are said to deliver a powerful kick. Empty eggs for sale the size of softballs. A fun quick stop. [Tim Martin, 05/24/2009]

This place is a hoot! The monster truck ride is not to be missed. My Mom and I took the kids and we were all falling off our seats laughing and having a ball. Hard to describe -- a combination of ranch tour, desert tour, monster truck course and...fishing? Yes, fishing for ostriches! Just trust me...

We went on a whim and it ended up being the kids highlight of this year's Arizona trip. We'll be back! [Sara Neal, 01/24/2008]

Now they've added lorikeets! I needed a new feather duster so we visited the Ostrich farm and fed the deer (the ostrich bite, so we don't feed them, but some people do) and got to see the brand new Lorikeet Rainforest attraction. It was really fun and I highly recommend it for that long Phoenix-Tucson boring part of I-10. You get a big cup of deer food and a small nectar cup for your $5 admission (refills $2). [Anna Herndon, 09/19/2007]

The Ostrich Farm is alive and well. We stopped in and fed the ostrich and deer after viewing the poppies on Picacho Peak this spring. The owner himself was there impressing tourists by kissing the birds on the beak. [Anna Herndon, 09/11/2005]

When driving between Tucson and Phoenix, AZ, look for Rooster Cogburn's Ostrich Farm off to the west side of I-10 at Picacho Peak. For a couple bucks you can hand-feed corn to very big, ugly birds. They bite, but not too hard. You can also purchase enormous ostrich eggs suitable for throwing at bad people. [Rafael and Arica, 03/20/1999]

[RA: August 2005 - Tipster Dean Jeffrey heard a story on NPR that Rooster Cogburn's Ostrich Farm is closing. "It seems, according to Cogburn, that a few years ago, people took to launching hot air balloons next to his property. It's spooked the birds so bad that it's destroyed his business. Cogburn tried suing the balloonists and lost, so he's closing the farm."]