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Tri-State Area Foodies Saddened By Ostrich Egg Shortage

ANDOVER, NJ (WCBS 880) - If you've got a craving for an ostrich egg omelet you might need to find something else to eat.

WCBS 880's Levon Putney In Andover, NJ

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The Roaming Acres farm in Andover, N.J., the only ostrich farm in the New York City area, breeds about 100 ostriches.

Hens will typically lay 40 to 50 eggs a year but Mother Nature has held up the process a bit this year.

"As far as the season goes, they started just fine but we've had a lot of rain and that kind of puts them on hold," Rick Soto, manager of the farm, said.

That's because the birds won't produce eggs without steady sunshine.

Soto said six people can get a meal out of one ostrich egg which can weigh as much as three pounds.

Soto says the farm is catching up and the demand for ostrich eggs from foodies and Manhattan restaurants are growing.

"We have a market for it. Sure, fresh ostrich eggs are a good seller," he says.

As far as taste, he says, "to me, they're a little eggy-tasting, a little bit stronger egg."

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