There are those who say that chicken will not survive in high elevation areas where the climate is cold.
Madali daw magkasakit ang manok dahil malamig.
That is a myth and that is not true absolutely!
Proof? Chicken could survive through winter and the snow in the US, Europe and other cold countries.
Experts say chicken could survive the cold up to 10*F but they have to be provided warm water in the coop.
That same chicken in snow-covered areas could survive the hot climate in the Philippines if brought here to breed.
Ang ibig sabihin nyan, puedeng mag-adjust ang katawan ng manok sa ano mang klima provided it is given enough time to acclimatize.
The truth is most outstanding gamefowl breeders in the Philippines raise their chicken in high elevation areas with cold climate.
Sabi nila mas lumalakas ang lungs ng manok na pinalaki sa high elevation.
So, huwag kayong maniwala na hindi puedeng mag-alaga ng manok sa bukid na malamig. Dahilan lang ng mga tamad yan.
But there are some important things that a chicken farmer must remember:
1. Ang sisiw hindi puedeng malamigan. You can’t expose your chicks to cold climate. They need the warmth of their mother hen that is why nature has taught the hen to cover her chicks with her wings. In the absence of a mother hen, that is if your are hatching your chicks in incubators, you have to raise them in confined brooders with heaters. Bulbs of 50watts could be used but in the absence of electricity, a heater could be fashioned out of old tin cans. Lagyan ng mga butas sa gilid and then place charcoal and make embers.
2. During the rainy season, it is important that your chickens have a warm shed to run to and seek shelter. While they could withstand the cold, their continued exposure to the rain could weaken their resistance and make them vulnerable to diseases.
3. A very critical aspect in chicken farming is the deworming. A chicken with so much parasites in the body will be weak and vulnerable to diseases. You have to deworm your free-range chicken the moment you bring them out to the range. After the first deworming (I am recommending 1/4 slice of Betel Nut), there should be a follow up after 15 days so that the newly-hatched worm eggs would be expelled. Every 45 days thereafter, the chicken should dewormed preferably by organic dewormers.
(The first two photos showing chicken in snow were downloaded from public websites while the last two photos were taken in the Braveheart Farms in Kidapawan City.)
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