Chicken Talk
By Manny Pinol
In the days (and nights) when I worked as senior copy editor and sports columnist of the Tempo newspaper in Manila, drinking was part of my daily activities.
Along with my editor-in-chief and bosom buddy, Recah Trinidad (father of sportscaster Chino Trinidad), Ding Marcelo, now Manila Bulletin Sports Editor, Rey Bancod, now Tempo Sports Editor, Al Mendoza with with SunStar newspaper chain, Mon Tulfo now of the Inquirer and our former associate editor Rusty Otico, we would hop from one watering hole to another in the Ermita and Malate areas.
Before we parted in the early hours of the morning, we would drop by our favorite Chinese teahouses and partake of hot soup to drive away some of the effects of alcohol from our body.
It was in those teahouses when I had my first taste of the Black Chinese chicken soup, which was only served occasionally depending on the availability of the supply of the chicken.
The Chinese Black Chicken are also known as the Silkie. Some of them come out Grey, Black or White feathered. But they have black eyes, black bones and black meat.
They are reputed to have medicinal value and the soup is recommended for children getting into puberty, nursing mothers and the drunk trying to get rid of hang-over.
They are very expensive. A pair sells for about P1,500.
Coming home to North Cotabato in 1993 to become a farmer, and later an accidental politician, I started leading a new lifestyle.
In 1998, as a gift to my young daughter Josa Bernadette, I gave up smoking totally and not even a single stick of cigarette touched my lips ever since.
Then, about seven years ago, I woke up one morning and decided I will not take alcohol of any kind anymore. I have remained alcohol free until today and not even a single drop of alcohol, not even red wine or beer, has touched my tongue since then.
But my liking for the Black Chinese chicken soup has remained and I have always savored the memories of those early morning hot soup sessions I had with my journalist friends.
Last year, while helping former Quezon City Mayor Jun Simon set up a goat project in Angat, Bulacan, I saw a pair of the Chinese Black Chicken running around in the farm where we went to.
I immediately asked Jun if I could have them as I wanted to raise the Chinese Black chicken or the Silkies.
Jun not only gave me the pair. He also led me to a very friendly man not far from the farm who gave me three more.
Breeding the ones I had proved to be very difficult, however, since they were closely related.
The first chicks that I produced were mostly weak and sickly, I guess because of the intense inbreeding.
After the elections this year, however, I was able to acquire two pairs from the Mangliwan family of Kabacan.
Today, I am breeding the two lines of the Chinese Black Silkies and the chicks coming out are proving to be very vigorous and healthy.
I already have about three dozen chicks on the ground and hopefully by next year I will have hundreds of these rare but highly prized chicken.
More Stories
Breeding Season Starts!
Practical Tips On Bio-Security In Free-Range Chicken Farming!
Breadfruit Grows Fast In My Dreamed Food Forest!