A Simple Guide to Managing Village Poultry in South Africa/Background
From Poultry Hub
The main aim of this guide is to help rural families (village people) who have only a few chickens and who are unable to get advice easily to increase production of meat and eggs from their chickens. Their meat and eggs provide protein essential for children to grow and to allow their brain to develop well so that they can learn more easily and become tall and strong. It is also important that mothers who are nursing their babies have enough of the high-quality protein that eggs and chicken meat contain. Good nutrition is essential for good health.
This book is designed to increase the productivity of indigenous (local) chickens who are scavenging (finding their own food) and mostly caring for themselves, by introducing basic, simple approaches and very small inputs that will not be costly. Often women care for chickens because they recognise how important eggs and chicken meat are for good nutrition and health, for themselves and their children. Chicken rearing can also provide additional money. Local chickens and old hens often fetch a good price in South Africa and eggs are easily sold to neighbours.
This handbook is in five sections:
- Housing
- Breeding and hatching
- Rearing and management; (Rearing chickens & Management of hens)
- Feeding
- Health
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank the following for translating the text into local languages: Kobie du Preez into Afrikaans; Tebo Magolego into Sotho; Joyce Mafu into Xhosa; Qeda Nyoka into Zulu and Edward Nesamvuni into Tshivenda.
Helpful comments on the text were made by Ed Wethli, Stephen Slippers and Edward Nesamvuni.
Illustrations were skilfully drawn by Susan Powell who also made useful comments. I thank Kathy Kamarinos for proficiently word processing and assembling the book.
Funding for the book was from an Australian-funded LINK Project managed by the International Development Program, Canberra and from a grant provided by the International Union of Nutritional Sciences. I am most grateful for these funds.
D.J. FARRELL
The University of Queensland
April, 2000
See also
- A Simple Guide to Managing Village Poultry in South Africa - Housing
- A Simple Guide to Managing Village Poultry in South Africa - Breeding and Hatching
- A Simple Guide to Managing Village Poultry in South Africa - Rearing and Management
- A Simple Guide to Managing Village Poultry in South Africa - Feeding
- A Simple Guide to Managing Village Poultry in South Africa - Health
