The old way of raising chickens outdoors where the animals are free to roam around and eat grains, insects and forages is back and gaining popularity.
The government is promoting free-range chicken production for more meat and eggs that are safe and healthy consistent with the Department of Agriculture’s mandate of producing food for the Filipinos.
This is also pursuant to the National Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Program under the Duterte Administration that constitute the 10 Basic Foundations of a Sound Agriculture and Fisheries Program. Hence, the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) of the DA is conducting advocacy and technical briefing in partnership with local government units on the basics of animal production with emphasis on scientific and sustainable management such as free range chicken production (FRCP) for meat and eggs.
It is called free range, free roaming or pastured chicken because the birds roam freely and do their natural things in their environment such as scratching to get natural or organic food, sunshine and exercise outside their housing compared to caged-chicken.
FRCP involves easy technology, uses natural and organic farming system, less effort exerted by the farmers, can be done by women and their children, it has good benefit to the soil, the chickens can eat grass, leaves, insects and leftovers from the kitchen and farm lands.
Resource speakers tapped by the ATI in a seminar among farmers in Ifugao explained that promoting the technology on FRCP is the new paradigm shift in the livestock industry and before one engages into it he or she must be equipped with the basic scientific knowledge and technology needed.
These technologies needed in FRCP include housing and supplies, breeds and their characteristics, brooding, growing and lighting management, laying management, feeds and feeding, alternative feeds, care of eggs and incubation, vaccination, alternative health management, common diseases, treatment and control and recording.
In FRC farming for meat, the chicken meat can be ready for harvest after around six weeks of age and the hens as layers for eggs can begin to produce eggs at around four months of age and a good hen lays an egg a day for the whole year.
It is also good to know that in FRC production, it is slower during the cold months and that the housing should be clean, fenced with perimeter wire or net for restricted access with disinfection at the site entrance with a height of at least six feet and roofing made of coconut leaves, nipa grass or tarpaulin with feeders and waterers.
There are five breeds in the Philippines that are good for FRC farming that include the Austrolop, Rhode Island Red, Light Sussex, Blue Isbar and Plymouth Rock but there are also cross breeds for the raiser to choose from such as the Sasso Brown Chicken, Asil Chicken, Naked Chicken and the Black Cemari Turken.
In brooding, heater, beddings of newspaper mat with rice hulls, light bulb and brooder pen are needed since there must be additional heat for the chicks and light bulbs must be placed for one to 14 days as the chicks are fed with chick booster mash also for 14 days.
After 14 days the chicks must be fed with starter mash until its 42nd day then continue with grower feeds until they can start free roaming when they are at least 60 days old.
For chickens selected for laying eggs, they should be fed with layer feeds when they are 62 days old and above and for laying purposes, the nest must be prepared with clean beddings of rice straw or shredded paper which should be changed every after two months.
The farmer must also know that a heavier hen produces heavier eggs and that good feeds mean good eggs and the sizes of eggs are classified as peewee (45 grams and below), small (45 grams to 50 grams), medium (51 grams to 55 grams), large (56 grams to 60 grams), extra large (61 grams to 65 grams) and jumbo (66 grams and above).
Free range chickens can also be fed with alternative feeds such as yellow corn, palay, snails, copra, mongo or soya beans, ipil-ipil leaves and azolla.
It was studied that 50 FRC layers that can also be sold for meat at P250/head can produce 9,856 eggs a year and a computation was made that a farmer can have a net gain of P21, 584.00/year with a total gross sale of P81, 49200/year from the P12, 500 for the 50 heads of hens and P68, 992.00 for the 9,856 eggs sold at P7.00 per ‘piece and deducting the estimated total expenses involved amounting to P59, 908.00 also for the whole year.
Farmers will realize more profits in the succeeding years since the will no longer spend for the construction of the housing and other facilities and the more chickens they will raise, the greater income they will get. **JDP/DBC- PIA CAR, Ifugao
