The Farm

The farm started off with one camp and the owners grew that into a beautiful, natural “aviary”, consisting of five camps which all have natural dams, where the waterfowl can move around freely. The camps are large enough, so that the birds are given the owners’ best and in return the birds gloriously give the owners their best. The striking, colourful camps, each a feast for the eyes, are under irrigation, with grass and trees for shadow. Each of the camps includes a variety of breeds, although the types that may cross breed are kept separately. There are different box type nests, so that the birds have a choice of where to breed.

The Birds

The breeding pairs are bought from different people so that the pairs are not from the same family. All birds are on a permit system which is done through Nature Conservation. The newborn birds are taken to the vet to sex them (whilst under local anesthetic). All birds get de-wormed twice a year. The birds are transported by air courier or local transport.

The waterfowl and exotic birds are fed twice daily. All the exotic birds are hand reared. The breeder, Mossie, had to learn how to hand-rear pheasants the hard way, as he found that the bird trader business in South Africa is not very helpful, in terms of information (especially with raising the newborns). Mossie, has however, mastered the concept and is more than willing to share his knowledge with those in need of help. All chickens are handled by broeikas. The waterfowl raise their young in the natural environment.