(4th of a Series)
By Manny Pinol
While everybody dreams and talks of raising “organic chicken,” achieving this goal is easier said than done.
Unless the backyard raiser lives in a remote area up in the mountains secluded from other farms, it is almost impossible to raise an “organic chicken” in the purist sense of the word “organic.”
There is simply no way to be able to raise meat chicken without somehow implementing an immunization and vaccination program given the fact that in the Philippines there are poultry diseases like “Fowl Pox”, Newcastle Disease and Avian Pest which could decimate the whole flock in a matter of days.
Even the use of commercial poultry feeds, some of which contain feed additives and anti-biotics, would immediately disqualify the users from claiming to be an “organic chicken” producer.
In the Braveheart Farms, what we do is just minimize the use of immunization and vaccination for our chicken.
In fact, the chicken, both the gamefowls and Manok PNoy, only undergo three vaccinations in our disease prevention program.
At 7 days, our chicks are given NCD B1 for Newcastle Disease with the second dose of Lasota given on the 21st day.
In between, at 14 to 15 days, they are given the Fowl Pox vaccine. After they have recovered from the Fowl Pox vaccine, the first deworming using powder or suspension dewormers diluted in water, is conducted.
The brand that we use is either “Pidro” or “Latigo.” This does not mean that other brands are not effective, it is just that we have been accustomed to using these brands.
For mature chicken, there is a natural method of flushing out the worms and parasites from the fowls’ body and this is through the use of the young betel nut or “bunga” which is traditionally chewed by the elderly .
For chicken weighing over 1 kilo, the young betel nut could be sliced into eight parts, giving one part each to eight chicken by pushing the sliced betel nut into the throat of the chicken.
Never attempt to give more than the prescribed volume because an overdose could kill the chicken.
In our experience, however, the chicken in the farm would still be vulnerable to Coccidiosis which usually is caused by disease carrying birds who may be attracted to the feeds in the farm and will share the feeds with the chicks.
In this instance, my cousin, Marvin Magbanua, says the most effective antidote is Novartis’ ASB3.
When there are indications that through unintentional neglect, the chicks showed signs of dropping their wings because they were not properly attended to, Marvin recommends Ambroxitil diluted in the drinking water of the chicks.
While the immunization and vaccination programs and the medicines required by the chicken from time to time are almost inevitable in a poultry farm, it is always best not to use medicines when they are not really needed.
Our experience in the Braveheart Farms showed that the best method of raising healthy chicken is to make sure first that the area where you will raise them is clean.
In instances where there is a luxury of space, the raising and rearing area must ideally be undulating or graded because nature, through the rain, will take care of washing the place of unwanted dirt and chicken dung.
Again, if there is available space, it is advisable that the rearing and ranging area must not be utilized for more than one season so as to avoid the risk of the accumulated dirt and dung causing infection to the chicken.
When there is not much space to use, it is best to disinfect the area by spraying it with lysol or similar formula before ranging the chicken.
Remember that the best feed for chicken is the green grass. Yes, chicken are grass eaters and it is grass that gives the free-range chicken the meat texture and taste that make them distinct to the broiler.
So the best ranging area is the grassy space. But in the absence of a grass covered ranging area, the poultry raiser could also gather green grass and just throw this into the pens.
Chicken love the young leaves of the carabao grass. Several poultry raisers mentioned the chopped leaves of Madre de Agua but we have not tried this in the Braveheart Farms.
It is always best to keenly observe the fowls for telltale signs of illness.
If a chicken appears to drop its head or even closes its eyes in broad daylight while the others are busy scrounging for food, then something is wrong with it.
It must be isolated immediately and if needed brought to a veterinarian for examination.
A chicken which dies inexplicably must not be buried right away. It is always best to bring it to the nearest laboratory to have the carcass examined so that the illness, and the proper medication, could be identified.
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