Boschveld
The Boschveld was bred on Mantsole Ranch in South Africa by crossing three indigenous southern African chickens: the Venda, the Ovambo and the Matabele. It is recognised as a synthetic indigenous breed. It was bred for hardiness in hot, dry conditions with minimal input, and it is a dual-purpose bird kept for both eggs and meat.
For a Botswana smallholder the Boschveld sits between the Tswana chicken and a commercial hybrid: more productive than a village bird, more resilient than a Hy-Line or a Ross, and able to scavenge a good part of its own feed.
Black Australorp
The Australorp is an Australian breed developed from the Black Orpington and famous historically for egg laying records. It is a calm, heavy, black-feathered bird that lays well and dresses out as a reasonable table bird.
In Botswana the Australorp is notable because research at the Botswana College of Agriculture (now the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources) crossed Australorps with indigenous Tswana chickens to improve growth rate and mature weight while keeping local adaptation. The cross showed better growth than pure Tswana chickens under intensive management.
Buying these breeds
Both are sourced from specialist breeders. Availability through chicken.co.bw is confirmed on enquiry.