The aim of the study was to assess small-scale farmers' attitude and willingness to consume goat milk and its products. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 151 household farmers by using a 15% random sampling technique. Data were analysed using descriptive frequencies and chi-square tests to check for any association between the variables and farmers' willingness to consume goat milk and its products. The results showed that a large share (41.78%) of the respondents do not consume goat milk. Taste (20.83%), cultural bias (8.33%), strong smell and natural dislike (64.58%) were some reasons why farmers do not consume goat milk. Some proportions (38.10%) of farmers were not aware of any nutritional benefits of goat milk. However, when these benefits were explained to them, a high percentage (93.10%) of these farmers indicated their willingness to consume goat milk and/or its products based on its nutritional benefits. Age, gender and educational status had a significant influence (P ≤ 0.05) on farmers' willingness to consume goat milk and its products. The nutritional importance of goat milk and its products should be strongly promoted to improve the human diet in the study area.

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Abstract. Gunya B, Muchenje V, Gxasheka M, Tyasi LT, Masika PJ. 2020. Management practices and contribution of village chickens to livelihoods of communal farmers: The case of Centane and Mount Frere in Eastern Cape, South Africa. Biodiversitas 21: 1345-1351. This study was conducted to determine village chickens production practices and their contribution to the livelihoods of farmers in rural households of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Data were gathered using a questionnaire survey of 150 households, which were identified by the use of snowball sampling. Village chickens were the most livestock species kept by farmers, mostly owned by women (79.61% in Centane and 81.06% in Mount Frere) and were kept for household food needs. Some farmers (21.92% and 25.31%) also occasionally sold their chickens at an average of R80 ($7.22) per bird. Most (93.13% and 76.44%) chickens flocks were provided with supplementary feed. The majority of farmers (80.31% and 88.33%) provided shelter for their chickens. The causes of chicken losses were reported to be diseases, predators, parasites and theft. The most cited disease problem was Newcastle (50.32% and 66.02%) while major predators were eagles (84.91% and 81.82%). The most common internal parasites were roundworms and tapeworm whilst the most reported external parasites were poultry lice and mites. The majority of farmers (94.51% and 92.21%) reported using chicken manure to improve the fertility of soils in their gardens. Chickens had a varied social role in the two areas, i.e., donation (61.63% and 68.82%) to neighbors and relatives. The majority of farmers (84.90%) in Centane didn't use chickens for cultural purposes whilst the majority (55.85%) in Mount Frere used chickens for cultural purposes. The present study showed that village chickens have a contribution to the livelihoods of rural households.

Classification and regression tree analysis is a powerful statistical technique which helps to determine the most important variables in a particular dataset and helps to create a model. The study was conducted to identify linear body measurement traits (beak length, body length, keel length, chest circumference, toe length, body girth, shank length, back length, shank circumference and wing length) which could be employed in developing an effective prediction equation for body weight of Potchefstroom Koekoek laying hens. Eighty Potchefstroom Koekoek laying hens at twenty two weeks old were used. Pearson's correlation together with classification and regression tree (CRT) methods were used for analysis. Descriptive statistics indicated that mean of body weight was 1.50 kg. Correlation findings revealed that body weight was positively significantly correlated (P < 0.05) with beak length (r = 0.23) and toe length (r = 0.21), respectively. CRT results demonstrated that beak length, wing length and back length play an important role in the body weight of Potchefstroom Koekoek laying hen chickens. This study suggests that body weight of laying hens could be estimated by some linear body measurement traits. The models established in the current study might be employed by chicken farmers when making selection during breeding to improve body weight. However, further studies need to be done to validate the use of classification and regression tree analysis in prediction of body weight from linear body measurement traits of chickens.

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