reinvestinginyourbusiness
andyouremployees,”hesays.
Managingthebusiness
Thefarmconsistsoffourchicken
houseswitha totalmaximum
capacitytohouseabout 7000
broilers.Matshenjabuysin 1600
day-oldchicksevery 14 daysto
makeoptimaluseofthespace,
andtoensureconsistentsupply.
Hehasdugvegetableplots
betweenthechickenhouses,
wherehegrowsvegetables
suchasgreenpeppers,chillies
andbeetroot.Thesehesellsto
SuperstoreinDlamini,Soweto,as
wellasatDeDeurfleamarket.
Broilersaremostlysold
directlyfromthefarm.
“Ourdailyactivitiesnormally
includea 6amwake-upcall.
Westartbymakinga fireinthe
furnacethatcanbeusedasan
alternativeheatsourceforthe
chickenhousestohelpcutback
onelectricityusage.Wethengo
throughthehousestoremove
deadbirds,andbringallthe
necessaryfarmrecordsuptodate.
“Itrytokeepmymortality
rateat5%,butinwinterit
cangoupto10%becauseof
insufficientheating,”hesays.
Beforethearrivalofa
newbatchofchicks,the
housesarethoroughly
cleanedanddisinfected,and
restedfor 10 to 14 days.
Newsawdustis putdown
beforeeachnewbatch
ofchicksis placed.
A daybeforethearrivalofa
newbatchofchicks,allthe
waterdispensersarefilled
withwatercontainingchopped
garlic,which,accordingto
Matshenja,actsasa natural
antibiotic,anda doseofPhenix
StresspacbyVirbac,a water-
solublevitaminandelectrolyte
supplementforpoultry.
Thechicksdrinkthis
solutionforthreedays
beforetheystartfeeding.Hetriestorearthechickensin
asnaturala wayaspossible,
andassuchmaintainsstrict
biosecuritymeasurestoprevent
andcontrolthespreadofdiseases
andthuskeepvaccinations
tothebareminimum.
Feed,hesays,is probablyhis
singlebiggestinputcost.Heuses
a two-phasefeedingprogramme,
comprisingstarterandgrower
feedfromNewHopeFeed.
Chickensaresoldfrom
35 days,orwhentheyreach
a liveweightof2kg.Futureplans
“It’simportanttounderstand
yourmarket,andthisimplies
anunderstandingoftheneeds
ofyourcustomers,”hesays.LIVESTOCK Broiler Production
‘You need to be
consistent with
production
and pricing’BELOWLEFT:
Thefarm’sdaily
activitiesnormally
includea 6am
wake-upcall,after
whicha fireis made
thatcanbeused
asanalternative
heatsourceforthe
chickenhouses,to
helpcutbackon
electricityusage.
BELOW:
Onarrival,day-old
chicksaregiven
waterwithchopped
garlicandVirbac
PhenixStresspac.“You need to be consistent with
production and pricing; people
don’t want to come to your farm
to find there is no stock, or that
the quality and price of the
product fluctuates,” he says.
His plans for the future include
venturing into new markets.
“I am in the process of setting
up a processing plant or an
abattoir specifically designed
for small-scale farmers as
there are no abattoirs close
by,” says Matshenja.
The idea is that the abattoir will
also be used by neighbouring
chickenfarms.It willhave
toslaughtera minimumof
49 chickenseverydaytobeviable.
“Ihopetoultimatelyhavea full-
capacitybroilerbusinessof 10000
birds, and to mechanise most of
the on-farm operations,” he says.
“This will give me time
to pursue another venture,
namely the production of day-
old chicks and fertile eggs.
“As new farmers we need
as much support as possible
from different stakeholders,
as we need to compete with
commercial farmers, who have
been in the game for a very
long time,” says Matshenja.
“In farming, you need
to be patient and love
what you’re farming.
“That will give you the
drive you need to succeed.”- Email Bhefika Matshenja
at doornkoppoultryfarmers@
gmail.com. ▪FW
34 farmer’sweekly 23 August 2019