Boschveld Indigenous Chicken Breed Information and management.

The Boschveld is an indigenous chicken reared across Africa. It is a crossbreed between the Ovambo, Matabele and Venda free-range indigenous chicken of southern Africa.

Bred to be resistant to diseases, grow quickly, defend themselves against predators and survive on whatever food is available, the Boschhveld chicken can survive in tough climates.

Mike Bosch, over 20 years has continued to improve on the Boschveld, a breed he developed when faced with an interesting problem – the tick challenge.

Boschveld Indigenous Chicken Background Information

Born into a ranching family in Gweru, Zimbabwe, Mike Bosch wanted to solve the tick problem that they faced in the ranch. He came up with the idea of having chickens that could eat the ticks. The chicken would be able to look for their own food by foraging, and defend themselves.

This led him to crossbreed three of the toughest breeds in Southern Africa. Over the years he continued to strengthen the breed by breeding the toughest in the flock. This led to the Boschveld Chicken, a cross of 50% Venda Chicken breed from South Africa, 25% Chicken Matabele breed from Zimbabwe and 25% Ovambo Chicken breed from Nambia.

The Boschveld Chicken surprised Mike, with the speed at which it grew, as compared to other free-range chicken. At two weeks, they had already doubled in size and developed mature feathers. This meant that they would not need an external heat source.

In 1983, Mike Bosch and his family moved to South Africa, where he set up a farm in Bela Bela Town, Limpopo province in South Africa. He continues to breed the Boschveld chicken and distributes it to over 17 countries in Africa, including Malawi, Angola, Zambia, Botswana, Swaziland, and Namibia. His mission now is to supply the Boschveld to families and farmers as they offer a lower cost of production while offering the cheapest protein available – eggs.

Boschveld Chicken Breed Information.

The Boschveld chickens, easily identifiable by their brown colour, mixed with white feathers, are easily attracted to insects. They naturally start scratching and foraging for food, without being taught by their mothers. They are great for free-ranging.

Boschveld chickens are hardy, and can withstand high and low temperatures. They are always alert, a characteristic that has been attributed to their great survival skills. They have high resistance to poultry diseases.

When it comes to reproducing, Boschveld hens are good brooders, with great maternal instincts and can reproduce in harsh environments. The hens lay 2 eggs every 3 days.

They do grow very fast. At 6 weeks the newborn Boschveld chick is close to the same size os the mother.

Breed Name: Boschveld
Scientific Name: Gallus domesticus.
Other Names: None
Temperament: Good forager, defends itself well.
Purpose: Meat and Eggs.
Maturity: Starts laying at 6 months, with a laying lifetime of 3 years
Eggs Productivity: 200 eggs Per year
Body Size: Large.
Broodiness: Good
Climate: Most Climates, can tolerate extreme heat and cold.
Comb: Single.
Size of Eggs: Medium, increases in size as the birds get older.
Colour of eggs: Brown.
Colour of bird: Brown with white feathers.