What is a Tswana chicken
In Botswana, indigenous chickens are called Tswana chickens. They are the birds kept in villages and cattle posts across the country, usually scavenging around the household with little supplementary feed and no controlled breeding. The same birds are sometimes called village, local, traditional or family chickens.
Researchers classify Tswana chickens into five strains: normal, dwarf, rumpless, frizzled and naked-neck. The normal strain is by far the most common. The naked-neck strain is found mostly in the Central region towards the North East District.
Appearance
Tswana chickens vary a great deal, which is typical of local chickens anywhere. Most are normally feathered, with a smaller share showing a crested head. Plumage is multicoloured but predominantly black, followed by brown-red, silver and metallic green. Almost all have a single comb; a few have a rose comb. They have no leg feathering, or only sparse feathering. Compared with indigenous chickens elsewhere in Africa they are larger in body but shorter in the shank.
Performance
Tswana chickens are better adapted to Botswana’s heat, feed scarcity and disease pressure than exotic breeds, which is why they survive with so little input. The trade-off is production: they grow slowly, finish lighter, and lay fewer and smaller eggs than commercial layers. Small egg size is a normal feature of tropical indigenous fowl.
Because of this, research in Botswana has trialled crossing Tswana hens with exotic breeds such as the Australorp to improve growth while keeping some hardiness. Crossbreeding takes advantage of hybrid vigour, but uncontrolled crossing in villages also erodes the indigenous gene pool, which researchers flag as a conservation concern.
How they are kept
Under the village system, birds roost in trees or simple shelters, scavenge by day, and are fed kitchen scraps, sorghum, maize or melon seeds when available. Hens go broody and hatch their own chicks. Losses to predators, Newcastle disease and cold are the main constraints. Vaccinating village flocks against Newcastle disease is the single most effective improvement a household can make.
Buying Tswana chickens
Tswana chickens are valued for their flavour and are in demand for traditional meals and events. Supply is seasonal and comes from smallholders rather than hatcheries, so availability is confirmed on enquiry.