Venda Chicken

[richrich1969]

Hi
I am from Franschhoek South Africa, and have a breed called a Venda Chicken an indigenous breed in South Africa, I can’t find any info on them and don’t even know if this is a breed, if anyone has info on them please let me know.

Cheers
Richard

 

[cashdl]

Go to feathersite.com. they have some info on the vends chicken. I googled it and found several sites that listed them.

 

[Oldhound]

Richard ! there is a reference to the Venda chicken on Feathersite .

 

[Kassaundra]

I think that means pics are in order!

 

[Illia]

From Feathersite.


According to Feathersite, they seem to vary as much as the next village chicken though, but seem to be quite useful and very pretty. The fifth toe especially is a neat and uncommon trait.

 

[richrich1969]

Hi All
Thanks for the info everyone, will take a few pics of them later and post it, we live on a wine farm about an hour from cape town in the beautiful village of Franschhoek, today is a hot day about 40 degrees Celsius, and looks like its going to stay that way for the week.
I am Married and two Kids, six chickens, two dogs ( Labrador and Boxer) and a cat

 

[Sylvester017]

Hi All
Thanks for the info everyone, will take a few pics of them later and post it, we live on a wine farm about an hour from cape town in the beautiful village of Franschhoek, today is a hot day about 40 degrees Celsius, and looks like its going to stay that way for the week.
I am Married and two Kids, six chickens, two dogs ( Labrador and Boxer) and a cat

The Venda remind me of a strong resemblance to Orust Hens and Exchequer Leghorns. Wonder if there is some relation between all these breeds as I wouldn't be surprised that early settlers from Europe and U.K. brought such breeds to South Africa. More vaguely the Asturian Painted Hen looks similar too.

 

[hsdienste]

Please inform me about the Venda chickens in Franshoek
Have you breed the chickens and did you collect more information on these chickens

I can inform you that the same bread of chickens are hosted by the nursery at Halls in Nelspruit
Please inform me where these chickens can be bought

Harry

 

[Sylvester017]

Please inform me about the Venda chickens in Franshoek
Have you breed the chickens and did you collect more information on these chickens

I can inform you that the same bread of chickens are hosted by the nursery at Halls in Nelspruit
Please inform me where these chickens can be bought

Harry

This looks like an incredible breed. Haven't seen them in America yet. They look like maybe a bit of Dorking in their background because of the shorter legs and 5 toes as well as other Europen/U.K mixes in the Venda? Let us know if you manage to find any where you are.

 

[GregLaws]

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.....