NATIVE CHICKEN PRODUCTION IN THE PHILIPPINES

16-06-2009

Introduction

Philippine native chicken is the common fowl found in the backyards of most rural households.

It is a mixture of different breeds and believed to have descended from the domesticated red jungle fowl.

It is estimated that 54.74% of the total chicken population of the country are Native Chicken native (UPLB, 2001) distributed as follows: Western Visayas, 13.32%; Southern Mindanao, 10.63%; Southern Tagalog, 9.51%; Central Visayas, 10.36%; Cagayan Valley, 9.29%.

Native chickens are raised under the free- range system of management. Under this system of management, the chickens are allowed to forage and look for their own food.

The raising of native chickens is an integral part of the farming systems of the Filipino farmers as they are the main source of eggs and meat for backyard farmers.

Each household raise about five to 100 heads of native chicken.

Native chickens are well known for their adaptability to local agro-climatic conditions, hardiness, ability to utilize farm-by-products and resistance to diseases. Moreover, they require minimal care, management and inputs.

Meat and eggs of native chickens are preferred by many Filipinos over the same products from commercial poultry because of their taste, leanness, pigmentation and suitability to Filipino special dishes. Moreover, native chicken meat and eggs are priced higher than those coming from commercial poultry.

Organic farming

Organic farms attempt to provide animals with "natural" living conditions and feed Ample, free-ranging outdoor access, for grazing and exercise, is a distinctive feature, and crowding is avoided

 Feed is also organically grown, and drugs, including antibiotics, are not ordinarily used (and are prohibited under organic regulatory regimes)

Animal health and food quality are thus pursued in a holistic "fresh air, exercise, and good food" approach.

Organic farming systems

Biodynamic agriculture- method of organic farming that treats farms as unified and individual organisms( emphasizing balancing the holistic development and interrelationship of the soil, plants, animals as a self-nourishing system without external inputs)

 Do Nothing Farming method- no fertilizer farming

Biointensive- focuses on maximum yields from the minimum area of land, while simultaneously improving the soil

Background

Zoologically, the native chicken belongs to the genus Gallus of the family Phasianae. The domestic chicken is simply called Gallus domesticus.

The wild ancestors of the domestic chicken probably originated in the South east Asia and four species of these white jungle fowls are still known in the area. There are: Gallus gallus, the red jungle fowl; Gallus layette, the Ceylones jungle fowl; Gallus sonnerati, the gray jungle fowl; and Gallus various, the black or green jungle fown. However, the red jungle fowl has the widest distribution of the wild species and may well bethe chief ancestor of the modern breeds.

The Darag

Darag is a general term used of the Philippine native chicken strain indigenous to and most dominant in Western Visayas. It evolve from the Red Jungle fowl.

The male locally called labuyo has red wing and hackle and black feathers and tail. The female, also called Darag, is typically yellowish-brown.

The comb is single, the earlobe is whitish and the shank gray for both male and female. Theadult male weighs an average of 1.3 kg while the female weighs an average of 1.0 kg.

The Stages of Development Mature Darag hens, called breeders, lay eggs. Eggs will hatch from 18-21 days Chicks go through brooding stage from the

first week to the twentieth day. From 21-45 days, chicks go through the

“hardening” stage. During hardening, chicks are prepared for the rugged conditions of the environment, thus improving the livability of chicks.

“Hardened” chicks are then left to grow in the field.

At age 75-120 days, the chickens are mature and ready for slaughter.

Improved Management Practices Housing-Provide the chickens with shelter made of

bamboo, scrap wood, wire mesh or net for their protection against predators and the effects of the elements of weather .

- Provide an adequate area of range for the birds to have free access to natural food.

Selecting the Stock

- To raise productive chickens select hens that are healthy, broody and have demonstrated good laying ability

- Use roosters that are aggressive, healthy and that come from flocks of fast growers or high egg producers

- - The native rooster is ready for breeding at age 20-24 weeks.- Keep just one rooster to a flock of 5-10 hens to produce the

satisfactory number of fertile eggs for hatching.- - The native hen start laying eggs between 18-20 weeks of age.- - Provide baskets covered with dried banana leaves, hay or sack to

serve as nests to layers. This will minimize egg breakage and ensure egg cleanliness and safety from predators.

- - The native hen lay about 40-60 eggs/year under the traditional management system, however, with improved management system and better nutrition, native hens can lay 130-200 eggs/year, each weighing about 50 g

Incubation

- Incubate only sound eggs that are 40-50 g each, with good ovoid shape and sound shell quality

- Collect eggs and store them in a cool, dry place - Store hatching eggs for a maximum of 10 days

under normal room temperature. Storage beyond this period will decrease the fertility of the eggs.

- For natural incubation, set a batch of 10-12 eggs under one hen. Small number of eggs from different hens can be collected and set just under one broody hen. This will prevent the onset of broodiness on the other laying hens.

- If a bigger number of eggs are to be hatched, use incubators to artificially hatch them.

Broodiness is the hen’s instinct to sit on the egg for incubation and hatching. This contributes directly to low egg production. Prevent the onset of broodiness by collecting eggs daily. This will encourage the hen to lay more eggs.

When incidences of broodiness are encountered, shorten and break this period by either confining the broody hens individually for 5 days in cages located in a well-lighted and well-ventilated area or by submerging the hen in a pail of water for 5 minutes before releasing it to the flock

Brooding

Natural method The traditional way of brooding allows the hen to

naturally nurture her chicks. The hen provides the needed heat to the chicks from her body. Also the chicks are allowed to tag along the hen to look for their food.

When a hen hatched only a few eggs, put the newly hatched chicks together with other newly hatched chicks of another hen

Encourage hens to resume laying eggs by separating the newly hatched chicks from the hens. The native chicks can then be artificially brood.

Artificial brooding House the newly hatched native chicks to protect them from predators

and the effects of weather extremes - Provide curtains made of old sacks, cloth or newspapers to the sides

of the house to regulate the brooding temperature - Roll the curtains up and down to maintain proper temperature and

ventilation - Keep the chicks warm during the first month by using artificial

brooders - Some common artificial brooders are: - kerosene lamps, with wire around them to prevent the chicks from

getting too close to the hot surface - electric bulb, as a rule 1 watt is good for a chick; therefore a 25-watt

bulb is good for approximately 25 chicks - During hot months, specially during the day, when no artificial source

of heat is necessary, the brooders should be removed or turned off - Observe the behavior of the chicks as this is a good indicator of

brooding temperature - Provide the chicks with local feeds or commercial chick feeds during

brooding. After a period of 3-4 weeks of artificial brooding, gradually allow the chicks to forage and train them to look for their own food in the range.

Feeds and Feeding Proper nutrition is essential in keeping the birds healthy and

productive. - Let the birds loose in the range to allow them access to natural

feeds like worms, grains, seeds, insects, greens and other sources - Give supplement feeds to the birds during summer months when

feeds in the range is scarse, and also during increment weather - Practice supplementation with high-energy feedstuffs like corn,

palay and grated coconut or farm-mixed formulations during these times. This will give the chickens the energy source that they rarely find in the field.

- The supplement feedstuffs can be made available in the house early morning, before the birds are allowed to free range, and in the afternoon to develop their homing instinct

- Commercial feeds can be given, if local feeds are scarse and not available, however, this is not economical because the native birds are not as efficient as commercial poultry

- Provide clean and fresh water to the birds everyday. - Bamboo poles split in half can be used as feeders and waterers. - Commercially available feeders and waterers can also be

adapted. Keep in mind the proper design and size of feeders to minimize feed wastage.

Benefits

Slowly, the value of native chicken has been recognize. In addition to its common contribution in the form of eggs and meat, as a source of additional income to the rural farmers during lean months of the year and as object for recreation in the form of cockfighting. Many people in the urban areas are now looking at the native chicken as a source of nutritious food.

City residents who lead a more sedentary life prefer foods that are low in cholesterol. Their preference is now shifting to the eggs coming from native chicken which, being small, are also believed to supply a small amount of cholesterol. Aside from that, native birds and eggs are tastier and more savory than the improved breeds. This explains why, kilo for kilo, native poultry products are more costly than those of the exotic breeds.

In 1998, PCCARD finally characterized the Philippine native chicken as the common backyard fowl, which is a mixture of different breeds. They are small, active, sensitive and capable of great flights when frightened. The hens are fairly good sitters and mothers, but unlike the native cocks that are being raised for cockfighting and fed with the best feed and sheltered comfortably, the native hens are not good in nests. At best, bamboo baskets covered with dry grass of banana leaves placed under the housed hens to serve as nests, and the trees that grow in premises serves as their perches. Despite all these, a native chicken lays about 40-60 eggs in a year. However, recent findings showed that when properly managed and fed with the right quality and amount of feeds, tha native hen can produce as much as 130-200 eggs in a year.

They also serve as cheap source of animal protein through their meat and eggs. Although native chickens grow at a slower rate and produce less number of eggs than improved commercial breeds, meat from native chickens are preferred by many Filipinos because of taste, leanness, pigmentation and sustainability for special dishes.