FARM REPORT ▶▶▶
give them lots of space and lots of fresh air,” said Jeanne. “We ensure there is ample natural vegetation and large pastures available for the birds to roam in. Another important aspect is to use only a top quality feed with no animal by-products, AGPs, growth promotors or antibiotics included. We also give the birds eight hours of darkness so they can get enough sleep every night. All these factors help to ensure we produce a healthy bird.” “At the end of the production line we aim to produce a bird weighing 2kg live weight and the ages differ depending on the season. We have three feed companies that supply us with our own unique rations made specifically for us. The raw material costs are rising all the time which is a huge concern to us as this accounts for 75 percent of our input costs. These rising costs thus have a really negative impact on the end product as far as price increases are concerned. All our birds are sold oven-ready to different retailers, including our own retail stores and the hospitality industry,” Jeanne stated.
Constant influenza alert
As with every country that produces poultry, South Africa is on the alert for any cases of bird flu, particularly so in flocks of birds reared outdoors. Following a deadly outbreak of the vi- rus in 2017 poultry producers are constantly on the lookout for signs that their birds may be infected. However, it’s not just the outdoor flocks that are affected. In the winter time when chicken houses are closed, the ventilation may be poor in some cases. Then the immune systems of the birds can be low, allowing bird flu to spread like wildfire through the flock. Jeanne has never had bird flu occur in her flock and has a number of management practices to try and prevent her chickens from catching the virus. She explained: “We have never been affected, luckily enough, and to help prevent wild birds from mixing with our birds we have created huge shade-cloth enclosed areas with trees planted inside them to provide a natural environment but this also keeps all wild birds out. Fortunately we have not been challenged too much in this area, as our birds naturally come in at night and are thus protected in their houses. Funnily enough a number of farms that are not free range and have environmentally-con- trolled houses have been wiped out by Avian Influenza, so it is not really just a free range threat. Avian Influenza is an industry threat,” she noted. Jeanne admits her chickens have a well-defined market as her production system runs at a higher cost, therefore increasing the cost of the end product. “Our way of producing is definite- ly more expensive and thus our product has a very defined market,” she said. “This market is growing, however, as more and more people understand the benefits of eating proper food produced to high welfare standards. Our niche market really is our advantage as our customers are well-informed and educated in terms of recognising good quality food. They know what they want and we produce that,” she concluded.
The aim is to produce a bird weighing 2kg live weight at the end of the cycle.
Elgin Free Range Chickens also uses a number of contract growers to supply birds to the business.
The company has 11 retail stores employing 100 staff. ▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 2, 2020 31
PHOTO: RUSSEL TRANTER
PHOTO: CHRIS MCCULLOUGH
PHOTO: CHRIS MCCULLOUGH
PHOTO: RUSSELL TRANTER
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