The last animals poultry farmers would be expected to want on their land would be lions - but not the Ferrucci family near Paarl, who are still celebrating the arrival of three lion cubs born on the farm a few weeks ago.

Sassy, Peanut and Chip are four-week-old cubs who have been hand-reared since birth by Claudia Ferrucci, whose family own the Rosendal Poultry Farm.

Deacon, the cubs' father, soon got bored with his role as a tourist attraction so the Feruccis bought a mate for him. Not long after that, the feline family was completed.

"Having the lions on a poultry farm is the last thing on earth people expect to see", admitted Ms Ferucci. The playful cubs, however, will not be allowed any exposure to people until they are two months old. "They're very fragile and can pick up diseases very quickly", said Ms Ferucci.

The cubs are being given bottled milk and will progress to minced chicken at six weeks. Even though she shares many playful moments with the cubs, Ms Ferucci will not go inside the enclosure where the adults are kept. And she is not sure whether she will have such close physical contact with the cubs once they have reached adulthood. "Wether they are hand-reared or not, lions can turn on you at any time. Anyone going into the enclosure could be their next dinner", she said.

She said although it had been fun looking after the cubs, it also was hard work training them. "It's a long process getting them to understand how to use their claws and teeth, as they're very strong-willed. You have to show them that you're the boss", she added.

This is not the first time Ms Ferucci has acted as a surrogate mum. She has hand-reared two other cubs, Deacon and Simba's first litter.

- Hellee-Kim Gould