Gauteng Smallholder Gauteng Smallholder November 2011 | Page 23

POULTRY
How to handle ~ and hold ~ your chickens
C
hickens that are
accustomed to being
handled and held are
easier to care for. It is
important that you regularly
check your fowls for lice and
injuries and the more you do
it, the less stressful it will be
for them.
From page 19
But how can you catch them?
If you work hard to tame your
chickens as soon as you get
them, then catching and
handling them should be no
problem. If you're lucky
enough to raise chickens from
the egg to adult, and you
have some time on your
hands, then training your
chickens to allow handling is
very advantageous. Training a
chicken requires dedication
and constant handling for the
bird to see you as a friend
and not just a threat that
feeds her and steals her eggs.
Some chickens will be easier
#SAFoodCrisis
However, like any new
they are more than willing to venture, there might be
buy the crops from local
challenges but that does not
farmers, as that will reduce
mean benefits would not be
the costs of purchasing as
worthwhile. One of the
compared to them sourcing
challenges could be the
the crops from other coun-
importation of quality planting
tries.
material, while another could
What was interesting from the be around gaining the
interview was that they are
confidence and trust of
also buying from smallholder customers.
farmers in their native
Gauteng farmers can benefit
countries, which puts one at
as they are close to the cities
ease regarding the issue of
and townships where a large
regulations around traceabil-
percentage of foreign
ity, standards, grades etc.
nationals are located.
Farmers can also explore
opportunities of value adding
which will mean more money
for them, and ready-to-use
food for consumers. However,
this will need a willingness to
study those products that can
be produced from the crop,
which organizations like the
ARC can play a major role in.
Farmers will have to shift from
supply chain to value chain
thinking. They need to
observe the recent trends and
customers as opposed to
Continued on page 22
21
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to familiarise than others.
If birds are to be caught, they
should be penned and
handled quietly so that they
stay relatively calm and there
is no risk of them being
injured. If possible, it is best
to try and usher your hen into
a corner before attempting to
pick her up. Try to avoid
chasing your chicken, as this
will result in your poultry
Continued on page 22