Near the town of Limpopo, about one and a half hours drive east of Pretoria, South Africa, there lives a farmer called Mike Bosch. His father was one of the first to leave Zimbabwe and re-settle elsewhere after that countrys' independence because he foresaw what has since happened there. He brought with him the nucleus of a herd of Beefmaster cattle - a cross between Herefords, Brahmans and Shorthorns established in America in 1954. Mike now runs their fine looking successors in a herd several hundred strong.
But one of the biggest problems of keeping cattle in hot country's is insects, especially ticks, that worry the cattle and reduce performance, quite apart from regular trips through dips or spray races necessary to protect the animals.
Observing this and how wild birds land on cattle's backs in hot countries to eat the ticks, Mike wondered if it would be possible to breed a domesticated hen to do the job more comprehensively and efficiently. He crossed three indigenous African breeds, the Venda, the Ovambo and the Matabele on the basis that they should have the right instincts and be hardy. He then selected the hardiest of their offspring, which he hoped would be capable of surviving the rigours of South African weather and predators, and put them in the cattle pastures with only simple sheds for protection.
The result was a significant reduction in the tick problem enabling him to halve the number of cattle spray treatments and better growth rates. He continues to select ever hardier hens, perfecting the system and supplying birds to other African farmers. In addition he has built up a flock of 100,000 of the so called Boschveld hens which he keeps on a free range system selling their eggs at a substatial premium price.
Egg production is about two thirds of what would be expected from hens bred for maximum numbers. But the premium he gets means the light brown speckled hens are now more profitable than the cattle. Mike is a genuine innovator and original thinker. It was a pleasure and an education for the Farmers Weekly study tour of southern Africa to visit him.