CobbAvian48 moves into South Africa

Major South African poultry producer Tydstroom is introducing the CobbAvian48 broiler breeder to its integration. The breed will also be made available to other companies in the region.

Tydstroom Poultry, part of Pioneer Foods which supplies food and beverage in South Africa and is a prominent global exporter, is a totally integrated operation from grandparent farms to processing plant and feed mill.

The first flock of CobbAvian48 grandparents was placed last summer and parent chicks are now being hatched.

“We are mainly growing chickens up to 35 days and the CobbAvian48 will suit our pattern of production well,” says Hennie Lourens, executive manager of the agri-division of Pioneer Foods. “The breed has an impressive growth rate up to this age as well as high chick numbers.”

The company, based outside Durbanville in the Western Cape, is producing more than 750,000 chickens a week primarily for supplying fresh, cut-up chicken for some of the country’s leading retailers.

“We are very proud of having Tydstroom as a new addition to the Cobb family,” says Pelayo Casanovas, sales and technical director of Cobb Europe. “Tydstroom is a very professional company run by a great team of people with whom we share very similar core values.”