NEW CHICKEN BREED ‘MANOK PNOY’ COULD YET LIFT UP THE POOR PINOY

By Manny Pinol

www.mannypinol.com

The huge market for ‘native’ chicken which is the favored breed of for “tinolang manok,” barbecue and “lechon manok” has largely been unsatisfied.

In fact, there are times even in Kidapawan City when barbecue stands would run out of ‘native’ chicken barbecue.

The reason for the dearth of supply of native chicken is the absence of a well-planned and organized breeding program.

This is mainly because, aside from the Jolo or Basilan breed, which is also called “Pauwakan,” there is no distinct local chicken breed with common genotype and phenotype to make breeding and disease control easier.

Most of the native chicken sold by the farmers now are mongrels which are vulnerable to seasonal poultry diseases like common respiratory ailments and Newcastle Disease.

This is also the reason why mongrel ‘native’ chicken have lean bodies and do not have uniform body built or meat taste.

This huge demand is marked by the very high price for ‘native’ chicken which ranges from P150 to P180 per kilo live.

It was because of these realities that I started developing a new breed aimed to achieve the following:

1. A breed with common characteristics to allow disease control and nutritional management easier;
2. A breed which is disease resistant and could be raised in the free-range;
3. A breed which could subsist and develop meat in its body even with the use of ordinary feeds like whole corn or sorghum to allow ordinary farmers to raise them;
4. A breed with greater meat carrying body structure and tender but longer meat fiber strands;
5. A breed which is prolific in egg production to allow faster reproduction for the market.

In 2011, I acquired two Western poultry breeds.These are breeds which are raised in the free-range in the West and known to be prolific egg producers while at the same time possessing outstanding meat taste.

At the same time, I also gathered outstanding breeding materials of the Philippine Asils, locally known as Jolo, Basilan or Pauwakan.

This breed is known for its huge and rounded body and disease-resistant.

The only problem is that the hens of this breed are poor egg producers and the meat tend to be tough when they grow to about six to eight months.

The purpose of the cross-breeding of the Oriental and Western breeds was to produce a new line of meat and egg poultry adaptable to the Philippine conditions.

Using Asil roosters over the Western poultry breeds, the experimental breeding started in January of 2011.

The Western hens proved to be prolific egg-layers with a laying percentage of 90%, meaning, nine of every 10 hens would lay eggs everyday.

Here are the other results of the breeding experiment:

1. Egg hatching fertility – 90%
2. Average weight of chicks on Day 1 – .0346 grams
3. Average weight of chicks on Day 15 – 103 grams
4. Average weight of chicks on Day 30 – 280 grams
5. Average weight of cockerels Day 60 – 800 grams
6. Average weight of cockerels Day 90 – 1.2 kilos
7. Average cost of feeds up to Day 90 – P25/per head

Take note that the chicks were placed on the ground on Day 1 and transferred to Free-Range yard on Day 15 to develop the long strands of meat and develop the firmness typical of ‘native’ chicken.

Here is the estimated income for the backyard poultry raiser:

– 100 heads bought at P50/chick plus P25/head for feeds/P5 for incidentals – P8,000

– 100 heads with 90% survival @ average of 1.2 kilos X P150/kilo – P16,200

– Farmer’s net income – P 8,200

The breeding and raising of ‘Manok PNoy’ by farming families, including poor families in semi-urban centers, could address the problem of poverty.

Raising an average of 50 heads of ‘Manok PNoy’ marketed monthly could already be a big help to a poor family.

(Photo caption: A flock of Manok PNoy Maitum and Manok PNoy Mariga in the Braveheart Farms in Paco, Kidapawan City.)

Source: Manny Piñol