Farmlands - By Lauren Southern

https://youtu.be/a_bDc7FfItk

The Mammon Chuckle

Mammon - The God Of Greed
Biblical text reference to the demi god Mammon as the money hungry entity that drives evil on earth. We all have that little devil sitting on our shoulder. Sometimes he turns is into pure evil. Sometimes we have to dance to his music just to make ends meet. No one of us can escape Mammon.

Many years ago I was personally addicted to the sound of Mammon's Piano Music. The sound of cash register on a very busy day. The only other place one can experience this addiction is in a casino. There os no other place in the world where this music is played anymore. Technology has killed the Mammon Piano in the temples of Greed. Everything today is computerised and the melody is just not the same.

Well ... Since I was forced out of retail due to World Heritage Status and the greed and mismanagement that comes with it... I had to find my kicks elsewhere. This Rooster sends the same thrill down my spine. In full fether he will fetch about R250.00 on the open market. Not bad for a mere R100.00 investment. Only 8 weeks to go.

By Petrus (BierPens) Viviers
      071 364 3104
      petrusviv@gmail.com

Free Range Run To Large

Free Range
By definition a free range chicken should have freedom for at least 3 hours per day. I am more concerned about free food and energy consumption. It seems the happy norm is 10 Chickens per square meter. Obviously depending on their age. Since this is a working Husbandry raising chickens to sell for the egg laying market my main aim is to have as much free feed as possible.

Size of a run

This run will be divided into two smaller runs. The main target market is selling pullets. (Point of lay hens). It means that from day old till 20 weeks they will consume 8kg of feed per bird. Chickens are brought in batches of 100, but traveling expenses to and from the hatchery has made it quite expensive and we found taking 500 birds at a time to be cost effective.

This will be unisex chicken so the run is setup in such away that pullets and cull can be separated at a certain age. Pullets needs to convert to commercial feed to ensure the buyers can house them according to their requirements. Culls will be raised on as much free food as possible.

So none of the runs will be larger than 40sqm. This will ensure that the hive mentality of the flock don't burn to much access energy. I expect that the average size per run to be no more than 300 birds, but on average about 200-250 adult birds. Well below the 10 birds per square meter. This surplus space will be used to fence of sections of the run to grow green feed every two weeks.

Free Range Free Feed - Bamboo

Free Feed - Bamboo
Chickens love to eat natural food more than Commercial Feed. That makes Free Range Husbandry so affordable. Many critics say that bamboo is to hard for chicken to digest. They say chickens will only eat it wuen they really hungry. Well that is not completely true. Here at "Op Die Plaas" basically live with our fether folk and monitor their diette preferences very closely. They love the treats we introduce to them from nature more than commercial feed.

According to field studies Broilers with access to bamboo grow and gain weight quicker than Broilers and a feeding program. This is good news since bamboo is a hardy grower that also provides shade in harsh summer months and can provide green feed during the winter months. This is a great supliment to only compost.

Bamboo is a grass family and thus makes part of their natural diette. What is extra great it is a hardy plant that florish in extreme conditions.

By Petrus (BierPens) Viviers
      0713643104
      petrusviv@gmail.com