Poultry for Sustainability

Am I the only one, or have you also noticed in recent years that young girls are ‘developing’ at an earlier age? My firm belief is that this phenomenon is intrinsically related to the amounts of hormones, antibiotics and associated junk that have been fed, injected and variously sprayed onto the food that makes up the bulk of modern diets. This in turn is passed onto us and our children. Generally we have no way of monitoring or ascertaining what pesticides, drugs and poisons are being added to our foods, we just believe that ‘they’ would never do anything that is harmful to us. Mmmm, somehow methinks that people are too gullible. ‘They’ are more concerned about profits and fast turnaround times than the health and wellbeing of the dutifully trusting public.

Proud Koekkoek Cock
One of my Koekoek Cocks.... a good looking bird if I may say so myself

So, where does one start in the first step of providing a healthy source of meat for your family? One of the first animals that most people on farms and smallholdings decide to acquire, are chickens. The reason for this is generally the ease of obtaining birds, and for many the perception is that they do not require much in the way of housing or feed. Or so it’s believed, very few people realise that a poorly managed flock becomes a constant financial drain on the resources of a farm, especially one that is trying to be self-sustainable. What people do is either get a few birds from a local auction, get ‘passed on’ birds, or they pick up some day old chicks from a roadside vendor, all in my opinion are poor choices.

Black Australorp pair
The beautiful Black Australorp is a firm favorite in South Africa

Most people believe that any bird will do, and they like the idea of a multi coloured flock running around their farm. The problem here is that you never know what kind of bird you are getting. A mixed flock may look nice and homely, but invariably it has major limitations. Not all birds are equal. Generally if they have been bought off auction, it’s the runts and poor layers are sold off, this is not even thinking of the sick and diseased birds, or the diseases and parasites that are transferred in an open auction environment.  So you are literally starting off on the back foot, with poor stock. It is very difficult to build up a sustainable flock if your foundation birds are made up of the unwanted birds from another flock.  The day old chicks on the roadside are very often males only. Battery birds are sex-linked to be able to sex the chicks on day one, the females are kept for mass egg production and the males being worthless, are sold to vendors that sell them off to the passing trade. These males make very poor meat birds, and not much good for anything else. I have a friend that recently bought broiler birds from a local auction, they looked fine and I could not tell what breed they were. However the lady that sold them assured us that they were top quality broilers. Three weeks later, these chicks have not gained much weight and honestly look as if they are still only a week old. So, the lesson here is, when you are at an auction and looking at any kind of livestock. Beware! Don’t take what’s said for granted.

It’s always best to do a bit of research into what kind of bird is needed for your family, before you rush out and ‘just quickly get some birds’. Are you looking for egg production, a meat bird, would you prefer a dual purpose bird that is good for both meat and eggs? Or are you a vegetarian that does not want the birds for any kind of consumption but would rather have a scratcher to assist with bug control in the veggie garden? There are chickens for almost every requirement that you may have, but how do you find out what is the right bird for you? This is an individual choice, and needs to be made with some kind of plan in mind. Setting out your goals and requirements are paramount. From there you can work out what is needed in a breed to sustain your family.

White Leghorns are great producers of white shelled eggs
White Leghorns are great producers of white shelled eggs

Our first flock of birds was a rush purchase for egg production. We bought a flock of 30 laying hens from a friend at work. Based on our understanding and calculations, we would be able to run a small profit from almost day one. The birds were duly delivered and we waited expectantly to make our promised deliveries of free range eggs. However, the birds were just not laying as expected. After much discussion amongst those in the know, we found out that a diet of grain and free-ranging was not conducive to high egg production. These birds have been specifically bred to be fed a high protein diet, they required 18 hours of artificial light every day and they needed to be housed in closed batteries. Not something that we wanted. We wanted real free range eggs, locking them up to increase production went totally against what we believed. Once we realised our error, we could not even slaughter the birds for our own consumption as they were not meat birds, they were purely egg layers.

We now had to rethink our entire poultry set-up. What we wanted was a hardy dual purpose bird that would do well free-ranging, with a grain based diet to supplement their protein requirements. In addition it had to have a high egg and meat production that would provide us with a good protein source. Personally I am partial to indigenous animals so naturally we had a look at what was available. I started speaking to an expert poultryman and he was able to supply me with some day old Koekoeks, these birds were considered for many years as one of South Africa’s finest dual purpose breeds. The Koekkoek was developed in Potchefstroom by line-breeding three top class heritage breeds. The Black Australorp (Meat and Eggs), the Plymouth Barred Rock (Meat and Eggs) and the White Leghorn (Eggs) from this mix the Koekoek was developed and a unique South African breed was developed that fit the bill for a locally robust and productive bird. Unfortunately, it has now fallen out of fashion due to the commercial Ross, Cobb, Hiline and other breeds that are now used for concentrated meat and egg production. The Koekoek has over the last 6 years been the main breed that we have worked with on our property. We have been through a number of generations of this amazing bird that is a consistent layer and a wonderful meat bird. As to being hardy, I can attest that we have had birds that have easily survived -8 C winters with no additional heat or supplementation.

A good looking Plymouth Barred Rock Cock
A good looking Plymouth Barred Rock Cock

My advice to new or prospective poultry owners is to firstly understand what you want from a breed, each breed has strong and weak points. Then find a breeder, or two (try get Cocks and Hen’s from two separate lines) that keep the breed you are looking for. A good place to start is the classifieds in agricultural magazines or The South African Show Poultry Organisation. http://www.saspo.org.za First decide if you want to buy adult birds or if you are prepared to take on chicks and raise them. If you take chicks they will be cheaper so you can get more birds for your money, but you will need to have the correct set-up to raise them. Such as infra-red lamps, drown proof waterers, chick food dispensers, a cosy well ventilated draught free place, and the right food. All of this comes at a cost and needs to be factored into the equation. Depending on the season, it can take you up to a year to get them to the point of laying your first eggs. Birds generally start laying at 6 months, however if you start them late in spring or summer you could have birds that don’t come into lay before winter and you might have to feed them the whole winter before you get your first eggs in spring.

If however you decide on adults, expect to pay a premium, as the breeder has already got them to a breeding age, taken the mortality losses and fed and cared for them. Expect to pay at least a few hundred rand for a trio of pure-bred birds. The cost however will be paid back in higher egg production and better slaughter weights than anything generally available from an auction. One word of caution when purchasing from Show Poultry breeders. Make sure that you ask for commercial stock and not show stock. Don’t fall for the idea that you need show quality birds, show birds often do not have the ‘working traits’ that one would need for self-sustainability. Many working breeds have been reduced to pure show breeds and do not have the desirable traits that the traditional working birds used to possess. This I believe is a failure on the show breeder’s side as the original robust genetic integrity has been traded for prestige on the show bench. Very good examples of this can be seen in the low fertility or inbreeding found in Indian Games (Cornish Hens) and Wyandottes. Two of my favourite breeds, that I have stopped working with due to the poor genetics available in South Africa.

Golden Wyandotte hen showing the beautiful lacing on their plumage
Golden Wyandotte hen showing the beautiful lacing on their plumage

The satisfaction that you gain from running a purebred flock is immense, excluding the additional benefits of quality meat and eggs, you are able to use the birds in trades with others looking for high quality birds. We have used our birds to trade for other desirable breeds as well as selling birds directly for an additional income or to pay for their own keep. The difference in quality is clearly apparent when two birds of differing quality are placed next to one another. To have a flock of birds that even a novice can see are superior is a worthy achievement. I want to encourage you to have a good look at the heritage breeds of poultry that are available in South Africa. Within these breeds lie the future of your self-sustainability. They are genetically robust, they are able to provide and reward your families with quality meat and eggs, and this for very little input and maintenance as opposed to factory breeds. Lastly, you will have the honour of keeping alive rare and fast vanishing breeds that may very well provide the basis and genetic blueprint of future breeding stock.

The next meat bird that many people try, are turkeys. Here is a bird that is almost guaranteed to frustrate, as they are notoriously difficult to raise and breed on a sustainable basis. Nearly all of the turkeys that are sold in our supermarkets are Large Breasted Whites. This is a highly selected variety of turkey that is unable to reproduce, the turkey hens need to be artificially inseminated to produce viable eggs. Basically the ability to self-perpetuate has been destroyed in favour of faster growth and more breast meat. The mind boggles at what needs to happen on a turkey farm ensure the successful production of the next generation of ‘healthy meat’. We won’t even go down the mental logistics that this act requires, suffice to say it does not bode well for the genetics of turkeys, where nearly all the birds bred by this method are from an incredibly small gene pool. With such limited genes in the global turkey population, all it will take is a viral outbreak to wipe out an industry, and bring upon the world a disaster of tremendous proportions. The same applies even more too chicken populations, thankfully without the artificial insemination issues….. yet.

Turkey Tom in full display for his girls
Turkey Tom in full display for his girls

With free-range turkeys the story is a lot different. The Tom’s (the males) have a harem of female hens that they preen, puff and generally show off for. Egg production is a hit and miss affair that may or may not work out. Often the turkey hen forgets where she’s laid her eggs and starts a new batch elsewhere. Two year and older hens seem to have better success and hatch rates. Once the little chicks hatch, this is when the next danger period starts. They are notoriously prone to the slightest infection or draught. A common saying goes; ”If the weather report says bad weather will arrive tomorrow evening, the chicks start dying tonight.” However once they are past the initial few weeks, what a pleasure. Being able to watch the fluffy little chicks transform into beautiful glistening bronzed adults, with sunlight reflecting off their iridescent feathers, more than makes up for all the hassles of the first few weeks. Turkeys are predominantly grazers and go through a surprising amount of green food, always make sure that they have some form of greens available. Winter may be a problem, what we do is plant a lot of cabbage and other brassica’s to supplement our birds in the dry winter months. One thing I can say is that free-range turkey is without a doubt the best flavoured meat that you will ever taste. Unfortunately, there is no way to get real free-range turkey meat than to do it yourself.

Finally, a word on using your animals for the table. This issue is by its very nature, sensitive. I for one look at the issue from a sustainability and health view. Trying to become self-sustainable and being an omnivore presents unique challenges. Some will vehemently disagree with my beliefs and frankly they have the right to do so. Each person has their own self entitled belief system that is shaped by their perceptions and worldview. My belief system allows me the luxury of meat, for others it may not. The fact that our family consumes meat is compounded by the need to provide this protein source in a healthy and ethical manner. Either I buy plastic, hormone laden meat from a shop or I produce it myself. The idea of eating meat that has been unethically raised revolts me and I take great pleasure in being able to feed my family with healthy meat, meat that has been bred and raised on our own property, where the animals have led a contented life without the multitude of stresses that occur in an unnatural factory farm environment.

The slaughter of these animals is a solemn and dirty task, there is no pleasure in this act. It is however required to get this food source onto the plates of my family. What it does do for our family is underpin the cycle of life that we as humans are so quick to gloss over, or are even loath to consider. Especially when one picks up a clean and sanitised pack of chops, or de-boned chicken breasts off the supermarket shelf, without a second thought as to what was required to get this protein source to our tables. Uniquely, every one of my children understands exactly where the drumstick or chop that lies on their plate comes from. They have been intimately involved in raising and feeding our animals, and as such understand the work involved to get this food onto their plates. This in itself provides a profound respect and insight into the value of our animals and what I believe is an integral part of the noble pursuit of becoming self-sustainable.

EDIT: 27 March 2011. In Spring of this year (Sept-Oct) we will be supplying day old heritage chickens of a variety of breeds. If you are interested please sign-up to our newsletter (On the right side of this page) and we will keep you informed as to what we have available.

28 thoughts on “Poultry for Sustainability

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  3. Fanie says:

    Can any one tell me if there are any regulations on keeping chickens ( small commercial scale ) on a smallholding in the Pretoria area

    • SelfSus says:

      Fanie, if you are in a zoned agricultural area then don’t ask questions, just be agricultural. Small scale is invariably ignored and when/if you get big enough you can start asking for permission.

  4. Claira Ord says:

    Hi there,
    I’m looking for a free-range turkey to buy for Christmas dinner – any suggestions? Not having much luck!
    Thanks so much,
    Claira

  5. Paul Zietsman says:

    Another thing that makes managing Koekoeks great is that they are easy to sex from one day old, as the cocks have a little white patch on the head which the hens don’t.

  6. Paul Zietsman says:

    Great article. For aal those who wonder what breed to get for pastured dual purpose birds, I would agree that the Potch Koekoek is the best suited to our SA conditions. It was specially bred for Southern African conditions, using the best traits of Australorp, Leghorn, and Barred Plymouth. It is a hardy bird that, considering its dual purpose, is one of the best layers you will get, and the eggs are large, and the bird is excellent eating, producing good wieght.

  7. Antje says:

    Hi,
    I have for around 6 months been raising my own meat chickens and have just yesterday received my first batch of baby Koek Koeks! My young daughters are delighted with the fluffy chicks and I look forward to having my own little flock of egg producers!
    Sean, brilliant article…just like we feel.

  8. neville watson says:

    i have wyandottes i live in redelinghuys i have bought from a show breeder to improve my stock i am looking for a youn cock again to improve my stock these are hardy chickens next to koekoek sometime i feel to cross them because of limited lines in wyandotte but they are beautifull birds hardy against heat and good layers they free range during day can you help me

  9. Sara says:

    We live on a small holding east of Pretoria and would like to become self sustaining. My husband wants to get koekoeks. Being only used to free range chicken from woolies, my question to you is do koekoeks provide succulent meat? Can one prepare it like store bought chicken as opposed to tough game birds? What is the best age at which one should slaughter them for softer meat? Lastly, does one use roosters or hens for meat? Am totally new to chicken farming, so please bear with my ignorance!

    • Sean Freeman says:

      Hi Sara. If you guys are going to go the route of free range chickens you are in for a great learning curve. Real free range birds (Nobody, but nobody sells real free range birds, esp Woolies) are a lot different to the concentration camp free range birds that you pay a premium for. Koekoeks are a great dual purpose birds (meat and eggs) but to get the best out of them you will need to confine them into pasture pens.

      We currently do pastured poultry with 4 different breeds (Koekoeks, Gold laced Wyandottes, Black Australorps and Standard broilers) Your best bet would be to get a book called Pastured Poultry Profits by Joel Salatin. This book really opened our eyes with regards to raising poultry and we have changed our entire system to work this way.

  10. Lauren says:

    What a fantsstic article! Thank you so much. I would like to raise a few birds mainly for egg production but also for meat. How many birds should I consider getting, if I want eggs for just 2 people? Also do I need to gets roosters and hens, or can I just get hens and will they still produce eggs?

    if there are any breeders of Koekoek, Black Australorp or Plymouth Barred Rock Cock KZN, wont you put your contact details up so I can contact you!

    Thanks again for the wodnerful article!

    Thanks so much

    • Sean Freeman says:

      Hi Lauren. Depending on how often you eat eggs bank on getting one egg every 24-25 hours per hen in the first year, every time they moult the lay ratio drops until the third year when the feed costs more than the return in eggs. To get the most eggs out of a bird dont let is sit on eggs, keep taking the eggs away.

  11. William Kelly says:

    Hello friends, My name is William Kelly. Thank you very much for the wonderful article “Poultry for sustainability. I am interested in breeding free-range White Leghorns for commercial purposes. I just dont have a clue where I can find a breeder. I have surfed the net for hours and I have not found one breeder.I live in Swaziland. I will have no difficulty in collecting the birds from South Africa, preferably from KZN, Mphumalanga and Gauteng Provinceses becasue of the distance. My contact number is: 00268-76483648. With sincere thanks for a lovely artitcle. William

  12. Marius says:

    Your article is by far the best info on the net. Thank you for showing uot some very interesting points. If it is possible can you add some contact numbers of the different breeders so that we can contact them.

  13. sunshine valley chicks says:

    sunshine valley hatchery is in the eastern cape. I hatch a tough dual purpose layer. I sell day old and month old chicks which sustain the local emerging farmers. 0826363727

  14. maurice says:

    I have a flock of rhode islands and sell 2 to 5 weekold chicks. They produce brown eggs and love to free range. I am in Lidgetton KZN. Phone 0828536248

  15. Katalina says:

    I have 40 plus hyline laying ladies. I also have Potch Koekoeks and Rhode Island Reds. I live East Of Pretoria. My problem is where to sell the eggs. They are grainfed and roam free. Can someone point me in the right direction please. My hens produce four doz eggs per day.

  16. Nick says:

    I would recommend the Koekoek. A wonderful bird.
    They are robust and make awesome eggs. Also, they have a good temperament – this quality was not really discussed – I think it is important too as they are part of the system if you are into self sustaining. btw -great article.

  17. Frances says:

    I am looking to free range eggs and meat chickens. Which would be best for eggs and which best for meat. I intend to have it as a small business. I am in the Hartbeespoort area on 5 hect

  18. muhammad says:

    hi!im looking for a dual purpose bird that will grow quite fast as free range.i want to breed for business and for the table.i have 8 hectares of land available for farming chickens.can someone plz contact me on 0833947676.im situated in ixopo.thanks.

  19. We are selling indegenous chickens of South africa such Naked neck, Ovambo, Venda, Potchefstroom Koekoek and black austraulorp and many more for details Call Suzan on 0835172014,or July Mahlangu 0836910826

  20. Sean Freeman says:

    Hi Johan. Take a look at dual purpose birds, Like Australorps and Koekoeks that are good for both meat and eggs, the personal choice is upto you and what you would like to see running around your property. Just be careful of large breeds roaming your veggie lands as they can very quickly decimate your seeds/seedlings. Rather look at a bantam breed with feathered feet as a scratcher in the lands, they will do less harm to the plants.

  21. johan van eck says:

    I am living in the Eastern Cape on a farm. I am looking for chickens that are very hardy which can just roam free on farm and dont need a lot of attention. Purpose is only to supply meat and eggs to family and control pests in crop and vegetable lands (2ha). Which will be the best breed to purchase.

  22. Sean Freeman says:

    Hi Donee and Carola, it would be best to contact the SASPO guys and see where that would get you. They would be the best informed as to suppliers for your specific areas.

  23. donee says:

    Stunning article – basic and informative BUT – still no luck on where small farmers can get half boxes of meat birds from? Or where we can get small quantities slaughtered and dressed? Can anyone help with that because i am nearly at my wits end. Have coop ready, have house ready, have everything ready but cant manage a box of 100 day old chicks!!!!!

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