Poultry and Ostrich

Article 77 describes broilers as South Africa’s largest single source of animal protein and its biggest livestock employer, an intensive, feed-dependent industry under pressure from imports. Article 80 explains that the industry is highly vertically integrated. Article 82 records that South Africa holds roughly 75% of the world ostrich market, rooted in the Klein Karoo, and Article 83 follows ostrich skin into the luxury leather trade.

In the local markets, poultry is produced by large integrated firms alongside thousands of small producers. Zimbabwe’s poultry chain is supplied by large hatcheries, Zambia’s by integrated groups and many small growers, Botswana’s by local producers protected by import controls, and Namibia’s by a dominant local producer. Zimbabwe hatched 113.9 million broiler day-old chicks in 2022 and produced 191,800 tonnes of broiler meat. Zambia's 5.49 million broilers are 86.45% household-raised, at a day-old chick cost of about K14.18. Botswana is self-sufficient in chicken meat, with a poultry sector worth P3.5 billion in 2025, and Namibia slaughtered 19.5 million chickens in 2025 while still importing 20,380 tonnes of poultry meat.

The Poultry Major covers every farmed bird: chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese and ostriches. Ostriches are not poultry in the strict sense, but they are farmed birds and are taught here with the rest. Each bird is its own business with its own buyer.

Chickens are the largest business: broilers for meat in six-week batches, and layers for eggs. Ducks grow to slaughter weight in about seven to eight weeks and sell to restaurants, Asian and specialty markets, and households; they are hardy and forage well. Turkeys take 14 to 22 weeks and sell most strongly for festive seasons and to processors for turkey meat products; they must be kept apart from chickens because of blackhead disease. Geese graze grass, need little feed and are sold whole for festive tables, with value in their down and fat. Ostriches are a specialist, high-capital business, concentrated in South Africa's Klein Karoo, which supplies most of the world's ostrich products: leather, meat and feathers.

For a small holding, chickens remain the best-tested entry. Ducks and geese are a sound second enterprise for a farm with water and grazing. Turkeys suit an owner with a festive or processor buyer secured in advance. Ostriches need a buyer in the established chain before a single bird is bought.

Live broilers are sold to informal traders and households, dressed birds to butcheries, restaurants and retailers, and birds under contract to integrators. Eggs are sold by the tray to retailers, wholesalers and traders. Prices are set by the market and capped by the price of imported and integrator chicken. Demand peaks at month-end, holidays and festivals.

Article 78 describes the dumping fight: cheap imported chicken, especially frozen portions, competes with local producers, and South Africa has repeatedly sought anti-dumping protection. Botswana and Namibia restrict poultry imports to protect local producers. Avian influenza outbreaks, covered in Module C6, close trade between countries.

Article 91 identifies the real bottleneck: the day-old chick. A poultry industry is only as large as the breeding stock and hatcheries feeding it, and many small producers cannot get reliable, healthy chicks. The chain runs from grandparent and parent breeding stock to hatcheries, feed mills, growers, abattoirs, retailers and consumers. Integrators control several of these stages. A small producer sells live birds locally, supplies an abattoir or grows under contract for an integrator.

Biosecurity decides survival: a disease outbreak can kill a batch in days. Day-old chick supply, vaccination schedules and feed quality determine performance. Formal buyers require registered, inspected abattoirs for dressed birds. Import controls in Botswana and Namibia protect local producers while they last.

Real minimum capital. A ventilated poultry house, feeders, drinkers, brooding heat, water, the first batch of chicks and feed for six weeks. For layers, cages or a free-range house, point-of-lay hens and feed for months before full laying. Ostrich farming is a specialist, high-capital niche tied to specific regions and buyers.

Input choke points. Reliable day-old chicks from a reputable hatchery, affordable feed, vaccines and biosecurity, and power or heat for brooding.

Offtake options. Informal traders and households for live birds, butcheries, restaurants, schools and retailers for dressed birds and eggs, and integrators for contract growing.

Who to call. Hatcheries for chicks and point-of-lay hens, feed mills, integrators that run contract-grower schemes, the veterinary office and local retailers.

The verdict for a small holding. Broilers in batches of a few hundred, or a small layer flock selling eggs to local retailers, are among the best-tested entries into commercial farming. Book chicks in advance, buy feed in bulk, keep strict biosecurity and secure buyers before the first batch arrives.

Each bird runs on its own clock. Broilers reach about 2 kg in five to six weeks, so a house can run six or seven batches a year with time to clean between them. Laying hens reach point of lay at 18 to 20 weeks and lay for about a year before they are sold as culls. Meat ducks reach slaughter weight in about seven to eight weeks. Turkeys take 14 to 22 weeks and geese 10 to 16 weeks, many sold for festive seasons. Ostriches are slaughtered at 10 to 14 months, and breeding hens lay from two to three years of age. Chicken eggs hatch in 21 days, duck, turkey and goose eggs in about 28 to 35, and ostrich eggs in about 42.

A chicken is sold whole, or cut into breast, thighs, drumsticks and wings, with the back, neck, feet and giblets sold separately; feet and necks have their own informal and export trade. Ducks are sold whole or as breast and legs, and their fat and down have value. Turkeys and geese are sold whole for festive tables, or cut like chickens. The ostrich is three businesses in one: the skin, a luxury leather; the meat, a lean red meat cut almost entirely from the thigh and leg as fan fillet, big drum and other steaks; and the feathers.

Whole birds and portions are graded on weight, conformation and the absence of bruises, torn skin or pin feathers. Eggs in South Africa are graded by quality, Grade 1 for retail, and sized by weight: small, medium, large, extra large and jumbo, from under 43 g to over 66 g. Ostrich skins are graded first, second and third by the pattern of the quill follicles and any damage, which is why ostrich farmers protect the birds from fences and fighting.

In poultry a disease can kill a batch in days, so biosecurity and vaccination are the business. This is the owner's checklist, not the science: enough to protect the investment and supervise the expert.

• Avian influenza. A notifiable disease; outbreaks close markets, including ostrich exports. Keep wild birds out.
• Newcastle disease. Vaccinate every flock.
• Gumboro and Marek's disease. Buy vaccinated chicks from a reputable hatchery.
• Coccidiosis. Keep litter dry and use the right feed.
• Blackhead in turkeys. Keep turkeys away from chickens.

When to call the expert. Call the veterinarian for sudden deaths, birds that stop eating or drinking, or a drop in laying. Report suspected avian influenza at once.

These are the specialists a poultry and ostrich business needs as it grows. You do not need to do their work; you need to know who they are, when to bring them in and what to expect from them. Module C11 teaches how to recruit, contract and manage them.

Choose broilers or layers. For broilers, run T-M12-02 Broiler Batch Calculator for one batch and the year; for layers, T-M12-03 Layer Flock Calculator. Measure feed efficiency in T-M12-04 Feed Conversion Calculator, compare prices in T-M12-05 and enter the result in T-M12-01 Enterprise Budget. Name the hatchery, the feed supplier and two buyers.

Calculators: T-M12-01 Enterprise Budget, T-M12-02 Broiler Batch Calculator, T-M12-03 Layer Flock Calculator, T-M12-04 Feed Conversion Calculator, T-M12-05 Market Price Comparator.

Library sources: LIB-A077, LIB-A081, LIB-A082, LIB-A083, LIB-A091; LIB-P-Broiler, LIB-P-Ostrich; LIB-C-ZW-PoultryOstrich, LIB-C-ZM-PoultryOstrich, LIB-C-BW-PoultryOstrich, LIB-C-NA-PoultryOstrich.