Zambia

[Morning]

Is anyone on this site living in Zambia? I'm going there at the end of July. Would like to see chicken projects there.

 

[centrarchid]

I have communicated with a group living near there. Most employed free-range keeping of the landrace birds already present. Ground predator of greatest concern is a mongoose. Mongoose was particularly hard on young birds captured during the day. Snakes were major takers of eggs unlike we in the US are familiar with. People I communicated with were also dead set on making chicken houses out of concrete blocks with locked doors. I recommended getting birds to roost up but otherwise using local materials and engineering methods employed by elders. Party I worked with where high school age students that lost their parents to AIDS epidemic. Forage management may prove to be a challenge that can be moderated by applications of whole corn.

I would use their local fowl to avoid polluting their locally adapted stocks.

 

[Morning]

Wow. Good information. I knew if there was expertise it would be on BYC. I'll report back when I get home.