Rations by stage
Broilers: starter, then grower, then finisher, in sequence according to the feed manufacturer’s programme.
Layers: chick starter, then a grower or pullet ration to point of lay, then a layer ration with added calcium for shell strength.
Do not feed layer ration to growing birds or broiler finisher to layers. The formulations are different.
Feed is the cost
Feed accounts for most of the cost of producing a chicken in Botswana. Botswana is a high-cost producer by regional standards, and the Competition and Consumer Authority’s market study identified feed prices and a requirement that broiler producers source most of their feed locally as contributors. Budget realistically, buy from a reputable mill, and store feed dry and off the floor.
What is not allowed
Botswana does not allow animal protein, antibiotics, anabolic hormones or thyrostatic substances in animal feed, and imported feed must be certified free of them. Buy feed from registered suppliers. Do not add medications to feed without veterinary advice.
Water
A chicken drinks roughly twice as much water as it eats in feed, and more in heat. Water must be clean, cool and available at all times. Clean drinkers daily. If water runs out in hot weather, birds die within hours.
Village chickens
Tswana chickens in the village system scavenge for most of their diet and are given sorghum, maize, kitchen scraps or melon seeds as supplements. Even a small daily supplement improves egg production and chick survival.