Venda Chicken

[Kassaundra]

I live in the Central Kalahari Desert in Botswana and am starting up with chickens for the first time. I chose Venda chickens for the obvious reason that they are really tough and our climate is brutal. I brought 18 eggs over from Kwazulu Natal, South Africa on a two day journey and four chicks hatched. I raised them in the yellowwood kist we got for our wedding gift from my mum Good plan. It was a bit like raising a baby, always listenings for the little chirps and checking that the sleeping chicks that looked thoroughly dead were still alive. The gender? Two cockerels and two hens They are now in something of a Rolls Royce Lodge with a great run that's protected like Fort Knox. We have a very wide variety of creatures who would love to stack on a chicken, tawny eagle, goshawks, leopard, honey badger (big problem), mongoose, wild cat, genet and caracal. We made the coop snake proof as well as we have 4 metre mambas and 2 plus metre snouted cobra that roam about. They are now five weeks old, growing at one hell of rate and strong as as a Venda Longer term, whilst maintaining a seperate Venda flock, I am keen to cross them with another indigenous African variety, the Koekoek. This was created from Leghorn, Barred Plymouth and Black Australorp. It's a great dual purpose bird but the hens are not especially broody. Perhaps the finest feature of the Venda is its broodiness but they only average 159 eggs a year. That''s the plan.....

it sure sounds like you need a "Fort Knox" coop where you are!

 

[pioneerchick816]

@GregLaws
I'm posting to subscribe, but I really hope your chickens have survived thus far!! Pics please if so. They are a wonderful looking breed

 

[Spunky1]

I'm looking for info on the Venda breed and came across thread. I got some fertile eggs for my broody. They were meant to be Boschvelders but three seem to be Venda! What can you tell me about them? Temperament? Broodiness? Egg laying? Do they fly? I'm also interested to see your original eggs came from KZN as that's where I am!

 

[Sylvester017]

With breeds that can go broody and raise their own young, the egg production will be less than a non-broody production breed. But I happen to like broody breeds -- it gives their bodies a rest from the nutrient depletion of laying eggs. A broody breed that gives 150 to 160 eggs is not a bad production. Keep in mind that hens lay 20% less eggs every year. For instance, a pullet that starts with 150 eggs her first year will lay approximately 120 the 2nd year, 96 the 3rd yr, etc etc. Our Silkies were a very broody breed and gave about 60 eggs their pullet year so not good for getting eggs from them but great as broody hens to hatch other hen eggs or duck or goose eggs, etc. Koekoek are a good production breed -- I love Cuckoo feathered birds. I have a feather-footed Cuckoo Breda and 3 Dominiques plus one old Partridge Silkie.

 

[HelenShoe]

I live in the Central Kalahari Desert in Botswana and am starting up with chickens for the first time. I chose Venda chickens for the obvious reason that they are really tough and our climate is brutal. I brought 18 eggs over from Kwazulu Natal, South Africa on a two day journey and four chicks hatched. I raised them in the yellowwood kist we got for our wedding gift from my mum Good plan. It was a bit like raising a baby, always listenings for the little chirps and checking that the sleeping chicks that looked thoroughly dead were still alive. The gender? Two cockerels and two hens They are now in something of a Rolls Royce Lodge with a great run that's protected like Fort Knox. We have a very wide variety of creatures who would love to stack on a chicken, tawny eagle, goshawks, leopard, honey badger (big problem), mongoose, wild cat, genet and caracal. We made the coop snake proof as well as we have 4 metre mambas and 2 plus metre snouted cobra that roam about. They are now five weeks old, growing at one hell of rate and strong as as a Venda Longer term, whilst maintaining a seperate Venda flock, I am keen to cross them with another indigenous African variety, the Koekoek. This was created from Leghorn, Barred Plymouth and Black Australorp. It's a great dual purpose bird but the hens are not especially broody. Perhaps the finest feature of the Venda is its broodiness but they only average 159 eggs a year. That''s the plan.....

They are a good breed! I hatched 2 from 6 gifted eggs. Ons (I hope it is a cockerel) cannot make a sound. The other one chirps non-stop, so it is not a voiceless breed! Any advice? This is the weaker one, as a hatchling I fed it inside for weeks. It is sometimes lethargic again, but is growing. Any experience with a voiceless chicken? Helen
(Herbertsdale)

 

[Sylvester017]

@HelenShoe -- I have the good fortune of having a veterinarian that grew up with chickens and will treat my birds if I have a problem. One thing he asks as I leave his office "And you are giving them vitamins, yes?" and I assure him we give our birds probiotics in their drinking water, and vitamins as adults too. Sometimes sickly chicks just need a little vitamin boost but usually the proper chick mash or crumbles has all the nutrients a growing chick needs.

Also, where I live I make sure I get Marek's vaccinated chicks since that is a real nasty heartbreaking disease of chicks and young birds. Older unvaccinated adult birds can succumb to Marek's later in life as well. Having a healthy pair of vaccinated parents is a good start to having healthy thriving chicks that also get vaccinated at the start of their hatch. On the farm when I was a kid vaccinations were never used but now 75 years later with billions of chickens worldwide I believe in Marek's chick vaccinations.

 

[HelenShoe]

Thank you, Sylvester017! I do give vitamins in their water , and also aloe leave. I took the young chick away again for the night. He still has no voice, only a hoarse exhale. But he ate lustily on the scrambled egg and has no problem in pooping. I do hope that he will be stronger now! (TLC is all I can give, some alone time from the flock). We think he might be too scared to grab food in the pack, so will watch him closely. He is more upright this morning, so trust he will heal, whatever his problem.
No vaccinations where we live in RSA.