Our Chicken Breeds

We breed the following chickens: New Hampshires, Potshefstroom Koekoeks, Rhode Island Reds and Black Australorps.

New Hampshire - The "Enhanced" Rhode Island Red

This is our flagship breed and of all the breeds we keep, the most prolific egg-layers. They are also excellent free range chickens.

We have been breeding and selecting our flock for for egg production since 2008 and our hens' egg-production is almost comparable to that of commercial egg-laying crosses. With their additional weight, better natural immunity and the fact that they can still produce economically after three years, we believe that they outperform commercial egg-laying crosses in the niche occupied by the small scale poultry breeder and egg farmer.

Originally bred out of Rhode Island Reds and selected for quick maturation and early feathering, the weights specified in the Breed Standard are 3.5 Kg for cocks and 2.6 Kg for hens. Up to 20% above or below this weight standard is permitted. We select cock weights in the upper range allowed, i.e. between 3.5 Kg and 4.2 Kg.

The South African Breed Standard for New Hampshires

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Potchefstroom Koekoeks - A Proudly South African Breed

Potchefstroom Koekoeks, or Potch Koekoeks for short, is a South African breed originally developed by Mr CL Marais at the Research Institute of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Potchefstroom during the 1960s. The breed is hardy and an excellent dual purpose bird with yellow legs and skin. Development was specifically intended towards the creation of a free ranging chicken.

The foundation breeds were the Black Australorp, White Leghorn and Barred Plymouth Rock. The white-grey coloured legs of many modern Koekoeks is probably a throwback to the Black Australorp and is undesirable. Since yellow legs are due to a recessive gene, fowl with yellow legs always produce yellow legs. Yellow legs in Koekoeks are indicative of a yellow skin and darker eggs, which is commercially preferred in South Africa.

The cocks are generally much larger than the hens, even more so than other breeds. This creates an excellent option for those requiring laying hens and want to utilize the male birds for meat.

The weights specified in the SASPO Breed Standard are 3.5 to 4.5 Kg for cocks and 2.5 to 3.5 Kg for hens. We select cock weights in the upper range allowed, i.e. between 4.0 Kg and 4.5 Kg.

Hardy and fertile, they make excellent chickens for the small scale free or semi-free range poultry keeper. Not quite the prolific egg-layer as the New Hampshire, they more than make up as meat birds (especially the males) as they weigh about 15% more. Still very good egg-layers though and of the pure breeds we know of, second only to the New Hampshire.

The popular perception that the breed is "self-sexing" due to the male chicks having a white spot on the head is not correct. All Koekoek chicks have a white spot on the head. It is only when you cross a red or black cock of another breed with a Koekoek hen that colour sexing is apparent. There are, however, broadly three colour variations in Koekoek chicks: very dark which are always female; a middle colour which can be male or female and a lighter variant which is generally always male.

We only breed with dark hens and the middle colour males. This give us good colour all-round and makes distinguishing the sexes in chicks easier, but not fool-proof.

The South African Breed Standard for the Potch Koekoek

 

Our Rhode Island Reds

Rhode Island Reds are a well-known and very popular breed, both for their eggs as well as their meat. Unfortunately, good Breed Standard quality Rhodes of the correct mahogany colour and the right size have become rare in South Africa. An added complication is that it has become extremely difficult to find cocks near the upper limit of the weight scale. The weights specified in the Breed Standard are 4 Kg for cocks and 3 Kg for hens. Up to 20% above or below this weight standard is permitted. We select cock weights in the upper range allowed, i.e. between 4.0 Kg and 4.8 Kg (slightly heavier than Koekoeks).

We are currently still building our flock, but do have limited numbers of Breed Standard quality chicks available.

The South African Breed Standard for the Rhode Island Red

Our Australorps

Black Australorps are our heaviest breed with cocks weighing 4.6 to 5 Kg and hens 3.7 to 4.2 Kg. The breed was originally developed in Australia out of Black Orpingtons to produce a more production capable bird. Interestingly, the world egg-laying record is held by an Australorp. They were imported into South Africa from Australia around 1910.

In South Africa some other colours are recognized, i.e. White, Golden, Splash (black/blue), Wheaten Laced and Blue. Australia and most other countries only recognize the black variety and we have decided to keep to this since it is in line to the Country of Origin Breed Standard. Our aim is to continue selecting for production in addition to producing beautiful birds.

The South African Breed Standard for the Australorp