Gauteng Smallholder December 2015-January 2016 | Page 21

From page 18

LIVESTOCK

and depending on the breed,
one or more of your hens
may “disappear” and if you
don't find evidence of attack
by a predator in the form of
feathers in the garden you
can be sure she has hidden
herself away to sit on a clutch
of eggs. About three weeks
after her disappearance she
will reappear, hopefully with
a clutch of chicks in tow. As
these grow you can either use
the pullets to replace or
enhance your existing layers,
or you can sell them as young
stock for a small profit.
If after three weeks your hen
doesn't reappear, chances are
that the clutch of eggs she's
sitting on are infertile and, by
that time, vrot, too.
Move her off the clutch
(taking care not to be pecked
in the process) and dispose of
the eggs so that she can come
back into lay again.
If your hens never disappear
to sit on a clutch it could be
because they are of a more
highly-bred commercial
variety, the broody instinct
having been bred out of
them. In this case, to ensure
you have replacement birds
you will need to incubate
eggs artificially. There are two
ways to do this: Either buy a
small hobbyist's incubator or
acquire a hen of a breed
which has not lost its
brooding instinct.
Once you have trained your
dogs not to attack them, freerange chickens will prettymuch take care of them-

selves, although good advice
is to feed them in their coop
in the evening to encourage
them not to find their own
nesting sites. And, of course,
provision of clean water is a
must (although they will drink
out of dogs' bowls, from leaky
taps and from any other
source as they roam.)
A small commercial layer or
broiler farm is a perfect
farming enterprise for a
smallholding and specialist
housing is available on a
turnkey basis from various
suppliers.
If you wish to farm broilers or
layers commercially you
should be aware of your local
by-laws regarding housing,
odours, disposal of waste etc.
And, before you introduce
your first batch of either
broilers or layers, ensure that
you have established a
market ~ and have buyers
lined up ~ for your eggs or
birds.
Turkeys are, of course, bigger
than chickens and are a bit
more finicky to rear, but a
good market exists for plump
free-range birds around
Christmas time.
K Waterfowl: Ducks and
geese can be reared for their
eggs, for their meat and for
their down. A duck egg is
about twice the size of a
medium chicken egg, and a
goose egg about twice the
size of a duck egg. Ducks lay
their eggs wherever the mood
takes them, often in mud,
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