Quality feathers fetch a premium price

Over the years, Laubscher Coetzee has established himself as a producer of top-quality ostrich feathers. He spoke to Glenneis Kriel about his production strategy.

- Glenneis Kriel

Even though ostrich plumage never again generated the riches it did during the 1865 to 1870 and the 1900 to 1914 booms, the production of premium-quality ostrich feathers is allowing Laubscher Coetzee, who farms at Kandrift Boerdery near Oudtshoorn in the Klein Karoo, to weather droughts and market fluctuations.

“Our ostrich feathers fetch a 10% to 50% premium and are always in demand even during times of oversupply. The excellent quality of our genetics has also sparked a good demand for our day-old chicks,” says Coetzee.

He attributes the good quality of his genetics to “years and years” of careful selection. “When meat and leather prices were sky-high, some farmers imported genetics and focused on the production of huge ostriches with lots of meat and leather, but hardly any feathers. We, however, continued to focus on producing a balanced bird with good build, meat and feather quality.”

FAST FACTS
The farm has a hatchery and supplies the market with day-old ostrich chicks.

The breeding focus is on the production of strong ostriches with premium-quality feathers.

A healthy diet helps to unlock the genetic potential of these ostriches.

BREEDING OBJECTIVES

Instead of selecting birds to include in his breeding flock when they are six months old, Coetzee waits until the birds have their first mature feathers around 12 months of age. The top 25% of these birds are then selected, and the rest are sold to the slaughter market.