POULTRY
Understanding the psychology of chicks
O
ne of the joys of
living on a smallholding is to witness
new life, and few creatures
are more endearing, and so
synonymous with spring, than
From page 36
chicks.
Ideally they should be reared
by their mothers. Observing
these little balls of fluff as they
develop is rewarding and
often amusing.
BIO CONTROL
Can the company selling the
product provide you with
information on setting up an
Integrated Pest Management
control programme before
selling the biological control
products?
Does the company provide
detailed instructions on how to
handle and apply biological
control products?
Is there any measure of the
quality and purity of the
biological control product you
received? For example: Does
the company tell you exactly
which organisms are contained in the product and who
made the species determination?
This should have been done
by a recognised taxonomic
expert, not necessarily
someone at the company.
Does the company offer
reasonable solutions for any
difficulties you may encounter
and does it follow up to
determine the success or
failure of your programme?
Instead of jumping right in
using the product on your
entire plot, first test it to see
whether it actually yields
results in your production
environment.
Soon after hatching chicks are
very active and when
running, they extend their
wings and flap them for use
as brakes. They stretch in a
very precise way with a wing
and leg on one side stretched
out pointing to the rear with
the wing primary feathers
displayed.
They can jump on to feeders,
but do not perch till they are
39
www.sasmallholder.co.za
four to six weeks old.
Chicks spend a lot of time
chasing each other and if they
turn, face up and stare at
each other, this can lead to
regular fights by two weeks of
age. These fights are only
between two birds at a time
(usually males) where they
grab at neck feathers and pull
the adversary to the ground.
Continued on page 40