Leribe - After closing for the winter break, the Tsikoane Development Association (TDA) will from the next week start hatching eggs for the production of chicks for sale. This was revealed by the Chairperson of the association Mr. Thuthu Ntjona on Tuesday. According to Mr. Ntjona, the winter break is necessary to avoid the loss of chicks due to cold conditions. If there is a sudden sharp drop in temperatures, with no time to acclimate for the chicks, it means “you could lose your whole flock in one terrible, fell swoop”. Mr. Ntjona further said the association cares for the chickens but the buyers do not give them enough warmth hence they die and thus resulting in a loss.

The Chairperson indicated that they are expecting fresh egg layers as they sold the ones they had so they were not producing enough eggs. “The chickens were old and did not produce enough eggs due to the cold,” he stated.

He mentioned that the first chicks will be available at the end of August and they have orders from different districts of the country. In an interview, one of the farmers Mrs. ‘Manthabiseng Seatli said during winter they struggle to get chickens due to the cold weather; hence, their market is badly affected. She explained that in most cases they lose customers due to delays such that at times they fail to retain those clients.

Mrs. Seatli said it is best for the TDA to give training to its customers on how to care for the chickens so that the selling continues even during winter. Established in February 2012, TDA aims at fighting and alleviating poverty by engaging in various agricultural activities. Lena