In 2007, the then-Eastern Cape Department of Land Affairs bought the 4 000ha Rockhurst farm near Grahamstown along with all the implements, machinery and stock, for over R10 million on behalf of seven former farmworkers. The workers had to pay an annual rent to the department for three years, after which their involvement would be reassessed.
But the women on the farm felt excluded, says mentor Siyabonga Mbombiya from the Siyabonga Green Village Agricultural Consultancy. This led to the initiation in 2008 of an award-winning ostrich-breeding project which, since its inception, has won a community builder of the year award from the Makana Local Municipality (MLM) and was declared as second-runner up in the informal markets category of the then-Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture’s Emerging Farmer Competition.

Siyabonga, who mentors other ostrich projects in Bathurst in the Eastern Cape, Kimberley in the Northern Cape, Bloemfontein and the Free State, explains that the decision to engage the women of Rockhurst in an ostrich-breeding project was due to their familiarity with the animals. These were farmed by the previous owner, Dave Blomfield. In addition, ostrich farming needs relatively little land. Because of existing infrastructure on the farm, it was decided to breed ostriches rather than just rear them. “We already had incubators, hatcheries, feed sheds and camps,” he says.To get the group of 14 women and one of their children, a young man, on their feet, the MLM donated R350 000 to buy 50 ostriches along with feed and medication. Soon after, the then-Eastern Cape Department of Social Development donated a further R500 000 to the project.

This was used to buy another 50 ostriches and train beneficiaries. Then in late 2009, to improve the success rate of hatching, the Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture and Rural Development made funds available for the purchase of computerised and automated PROHATCH incubators and a hatchery, to the cost of R900 000. The women each pay R12 000 rent a year to the government to farm on Rockhurst.Siyabonga’s knowledge based on 10 years of involvement in the ostrich industry will be essential to ensure that the venture becomes profitable, say the beneficiaries. “Although we were involved with ostriches with the previous owner, it was not clear to us because it [the project] did not belong to us,” says one of the women, Bulukozi Reto. “But now that we have a mentor, we understand ostriches much better.”

Managing breeding ostriches effectively On Rockhurst, 63 mature breeding females from a total of 97 ostriches are currently producing eggs in a mating and laying season that extends from mid-June to late February. Siyabonga explains that each well-fed and healthy bird produces an egg about every third day and 50 to 60 eggs in a season. Ostriches are kept and mated in camps of 50m x 50m with six females and three males per camp. “I like to create a little competition amongst the males,” he says.
The effective management of breeding ostriches is critical for optimum hatchability in the incubators. An inoculation and dosing programme, also focuses on the potentially devastating Newcastle disease and includes implementing and maintaining effective biosecurity measures and feeding breeding ostriches throughout the year.

“You have to keep the birds in good condition throughout the year,” says Siyabonga. “If the breeders are not well fed or are stressed, they will produce infertile eggs. Well-fed ostriches will produce more chicks and ultimately a greater profit. But feed is the most expensive input at a cost of about R8/day to R10/day per adult breeding ostrich.” He explains that for this reason, plans are underway to investigate producing lucerne along the Fish River on Rockhurst.

Managing eggs, marketing chicks
Ostriches normally lay eggs in the morning and afternoon. Eggs are collected, cleaned and placed into an egg storage cold room with a constant temperature of between 21°C and 23°C. When enough eggs have been collected for a batch, they are transferred to an incubator maintaining a constant temperature of 36,5°C.Siyabonga explains that getting the eggs into the incubator as soon as possible is important. Storing them too long can make them infertile.

Too few breeding ostriches means the farmers won’t be able to accumulate eggs quickly enough to make up a batch. This is a typical small scale farmer situation, and can force producers to keep eggs for two to three weeks before the 42-day incubation period can begin. On Rockhurst, eggs are not stored for longer than 12 days after collection.Five days before hatching, the eggs are carefully transferred to the hatchery with the temperature set at between 34°C and 35,5°C to await hatching. To date, Rockhurst has produced almost 1 000 chicks with an admirable hatching rate of between 60% and 70% to supply the challenging and competitive Eastern Cape market.

Infertile eggs and ostrich feathers are sold informally to crafters.Siyabonga explains that marketing day-old chicks can be tough, as farmers who rear ostriches are notoriously fussy about where they buy them because the effective biosecurity and feeding regimes of breeders define the ultimate health and strength of the chicks. “What you put in is what you get out,” he stresses. “The market is always a challenge, and you have to be trusted in the industry to be able to sell chicks.” Siyabonga’s involvement of more than a decade in the industry has allowed him to build up a client base of Eastern Cape commercial farmers for Rockhurst chicks, especially in Cradock. Further complicating the ostrich market is the fluctuating prices of day-old chicks. Siyabonga recalls how last year, they were selling for R340 to R350 each, while this year the price has dropped by about R100.

Looking ahead
Future marketing plans at Rockhurst involve supplying ostriches to rear and then finish off in a feedlot to more emerging farmers around Grahamstown, organised into a cooperative. “The idea is that feedlots will be owned by a secondary cooperative of emerging farmers, so that this sector will own the entire chain,” explains Siyabonga. “I enjoy working with poor communities and I enjoy seeing how they appreciate what I do.”Contact Siyabonga Mbombiya on 073 780 2959     |fw