HEALTH
Common parasites and ailments in poultry
M
any chicken breeds
are hardy and
generally easy to
keep, but there are health
problems that can still arise,
particularly in flocks that are
kept housed, rather than
allowed range freely about
the plot. Owners should
spend regular time in
observing them closely to
monitor the state of their
birds' feathers, skins and legs.
There are quite a few
parasites that pose a threat to
the well-being of your poultry.
Different parasites can be
seen on the head and body
VEG FOR PROFIT
From page 35
run more economically. If the
status of the soil is unknown,
over-fertilising could eat away
your profit margin.
K Even more important is
the quality of the water
available on the farm. Poor
quality water will affect soil
quality ~ and the resulting
crop ~ negatively. If a
borehole is the only available
water source and it doesn't
supply water at a rate of at
least a litre/second, you will
be unable to grow vegetables
on even a small commercial
scale.
The use of municipal water
can be expensive for
vegetable production, as the
quantity of water needed to
grow vegetables at an
optimum yield can be very
high; 15mm — 20mm of
irrigation is needed once a
week.
Vegetables cultivated on
2
1 000m (which is small
scale), require 15 000 to
20 000 litres a week; for a
crop that grows for 90 days,
that amounts to 192 000 ~
262 000 litres (or 192 ~
of chickens. These parasites
appear as black, brown or red
“spots” and they are mites,
fleas, lice and ticks.
K Mites. There are different
types of mites that affect
chickens. They differ from
lice in that they feed on the
blood of chickens.
2
262kL) per 1 000 m .
To irrigate 1ha of land, 1 920
~ 2 620kL litres of water will
be required. The current cost
of municipal water on the
East Rand (Ekurhuleni), for
example, is about R15/kL,
equating to R28 800 ~
R39 300, in the above
example, assuming no
assistance from rainfall. The
economics of the use of
municipal water for irrigation
should thus be determined
beforehand.
K Infrastructure can make or
break a sustainable vegetable
36
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This affects the growth and
condition of chickens. It is
important to know the
differences between mites
because they have different
methods of control.
There are three important
types of mites that affect
Continued on page 38
production unit. Transport is
essential to obtain resources
(on and off the farm) and
tractors and implements are
needed to cultivate large
tracts of land.
Irrigation systems must be
suited to the soil and crops
produced, or the yield will be
greatly reduced. The system
must be manageable and well
maintained.
You will also need postharvest infrastructure such as
packing sheds or cold stores if
a high-quality product is to
be marketed.