Emmanuel Gumede (26) is a determined young man. He is currently employed full- time as a call-centre supervisor, but his heart lies in fulfilling the big dreams that he has for his 18-month-old, small-scale broiler farming business.
It was only in March last year that Gumede began a small production trial in his family’s backyard with 10-day-old New Hampshire chicks he had bought in a Durban pet shop. These were the only chicks left when he arrived at the shop that day, and despite New Hampshire chickens having been bred primarily for egg production, he learnt a number of valuable lessons about how to take chickens to maturity.
“At the beginning of last year, before I bought the New Hampshire chicks, I’d started to search the Internet for as much information as I could find about growing broilers in the backyard,” says Gumede.
“The information I read and YouTube videos I watched were very helpful. My mother, Ernestina Gugu, also taught me some lessons from her younger years when she raised small flocks of free-range chickens in the backyard.”
A SIMPLE, FUNCTIONAL CHICKEN HOUSE
Scraping together every cent of cash he could spare, Gumede bought materials and built himself a simple 7m x 14m broiler grower house comprising corrugated iron sheets, wooden poles and planks, and an earthen floor.
A bonus was that his family’s property, situated in KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) Upper Buffelsdraai area just north of Durban, had an empty rondavel within which he could rear his day-old broiler chicks until they were 14 days old. They could then be transferred to the grower house for finishing.
Denne historien er fra August 21, 2020-utgaven av Farmer's Weekly.
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Denne historien er fra August 21, 2020-utgaven av Farmer's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Syngenta Seedcare celebrates a decade of innovation
Syngenta's ambition is to enable their customers' investments to grow in healthy soil from treated seeds to young plants through innovation and collaboration, writes Magda du Toit.
Agri workers shine at Western Cape awards
Lindie-Alet van Staden, a garden and olive orchard manager at L’Ormarins Wine Estate in Franschhoek, was crowned as the Western Cape Prestige Agri-Worker of 2024 at a gala event recently held near Paarl.
Small and large farmers recognised at grain awards
The annual Grain SA/Syngenta awards ceremony bears testimony to the quality of farmers in the grain industry.
Growing partnerships: Fedgroup's flexible and innovative approach
Janine Ryan spoke to Warren Winchester, general manager of impact investing at Fedgroup, about why the company became involved in agriculture, and what it offers farmers and their immediate communities.
Why fish farms fail, and how to avoid becoming a statistic
The popularity of launching fish farms is not matched by their success. Leslie Ter Morshuizen, owner of Aquaculture Solutions, explores the factors that cause most of these businesses to go under.
Where history and modernity meet in a luxurious setting
Brian Berkman kept his eyes peeled for ghosts in the oldest continuously run hotel in South Africa, but all he found was a fabulous two-night stay.
THE HITCHING POST
I'm a stylish elderly lady with a radiant glow and a good sense of humour that keeps me young at heart.
Cutworms: check the weeds on your fields!
Zunel van Eeden explains why understanding the ecological interplay between cutworms and weeds is crucial for effective pest management. Producers should disrupt the life cycle of cutworms to minimise crop damage.
Does high-density grazing mimic grazing patterns of game?
In their paper on high-density grazing in Southern Africa, professors Angelinus Franke and Elmarie Kotzé from the Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences at the University of the Free State say high-density grazing systems may not accurately reflect natural ecosystems. Roelof Bezuidenhout reports.
Global grain outlook: 2024/25 marketing season
In its latest summer crops report, the Crop Estimates Committee says South African farmers intend to plant 4,47 million hectares of summer grains and oilseeds in the 2024/25 season, up 1% from the previous season. As South Africa exports maize and soya bean, Annelie Coleman reports on the latest trends in the international grain and oilseed markets, amid fluctuations in weather conditions and ongoing armed conflicts.
