Darag Native Chicken

Native chicken has the great potential of becoming a big industry, words of Dr.
Ricardo A. Provido, a successful agricultural entrepreneur and the present chairman of
the Regional Agricultural and Fisheries Council (RAFC) Region VI, as he shared his
experiences and marketing ideas in a recent interview.
Its the distinct taste of the Darag that makes it inimitable from the commercial
breeds. He added that the free-range management of native chicken made it possible
for them to accumulate natural nutrients directly from the soil which cultured broilers and
layers do not acquire.
The Darag native chicken has already launched its name in the local markets
and started to play side by side with the commercial ones. Through the intervention of
available technology, it has also evolved into a more complex production process and
marketing system.
Available resources for interested individuals are accessible, resulting to a
greater market potential and competitiveness.
Its about time that the Darag native chicken should be projected to the public as
one of the regions flagship commodities, Provido said.
Background
Zoologically, the native chicken belongs to the genus Gallus of the family
Phasianae. The domestic chicken is simply called Gallus domesticus.
The wild ancestors of the domestic chicken probably originated in the South east
Asia and four species of these white jungle fowls are still known in the area. There are:
Gallus gallus, the red jungle fowl; Gallus layette, the Ceylones jungle fowl; Gallus
sonnerati, the gray jungle fowl; and Gallus various, the black or green jungle fown.
However, the red jungle fowl has the widest distribution of the wild species and
may well be the chief ancestor of the modern breeds.
Description
The early domesticated native chicken still resemble their wild ancestors in many
characteristics. The wild adult male has a shiny red plumage with light brown hackle
and black tail feathers while the female has flat yellowish-brownish pumage. The native
chickens combs are of single type, and the color of their shanks ranges from yellow to
gray. The combined effects of mutation, natural selection, selection for cockfighting, and
the indiscriminate crossing with the exotics led to the evolution of the so-called
indigenous chickens.
Some of the Philippines native chickens that are raised in the backyard of many
farmers in the rural areas still resemble their wild ancestral type. They are nervous,
flighty, but the female has string maternal instincts. They are hardy and can reproduce
and survive with minimal care and management.
In the Philippines, native chickens constitute a large portion of the total chicken
population. For many years, these chickens have been part of the natural setting and
provide additional sources of income for so many rural farmers.

The Darag
Darag is a general term used of the Philippine native chicken strain indigenous to
and most dominant in Western Visayas. It evolve from the Red Jungle fowl.
The male locally called labuyo has red wing and hackle and black feathers and
tail. The female, also called Darag, is typically yellowish-brown.
The comb is single, the earlobe is whitish and the shank gray for both male and female.
The adult male weighs an average of 1.3 kg while the female weighs an average of 1.0
kg.
The Stages of Development
1.

Mature Darag hens, called breeders, lay eggs.

2.

Eggs will hatch from 18-21 days

3.

Chicks go through brooding stage from the first week to the twentieth day.

4.

From 21-45 days, chicks go through the hardening stage. During hardening,
chicks are prepared for the rugged conditions of the environment, thus improving the
livability of chicks.

5.

Hardened chicks are then left to grow in the field.

6.

At age 75-120 days, the chickens are mature and ready for slaughter.
Breeds and Breeding
Present market for native chicken demands for Darag native chicken. It is the
strain of native chicken that possesses a distinctive taste compared to others. In its
absence, the mongrels can be used. This chicken has a bloodline of Darag but have a
different plumage color.
The ratio of rooster to hen should be within 1: 7-10. Rooster should be changed
every year to prevent inbreeding that may lead to abnormalities or deformities among
the offspring. Hen could lay as much as 18 20 eggs per clutch. This number can be
reached by collecting the eggs of hen in the nest everyday leaving only two to three
eggs. The eggs should be stored under room temperature. Return the eggs in the nest
when the hen shows broodiness.
Culling should be done among hens every three years. It was observed that
when the hen reaches this age, the egg production level decreases and its meat is
tougher when cooked. It lays fewer eggs per clutch and the chicks hatched are weak.
Hens showing similar poor egg production, obesity, poor vitality, or have developed
physical deformities should also be culled even at their younger age.

Housing
When raising chicken whether for family consumption or for the market, it would
be good practice to provide the birds with housing for their safety against draft and other
bad elements that may adversely affect their production. The house should be wellventilated but protected against strong wind or inclement weather. The site should not
be prone to flooding, away from dense human population and main roads, secure from
theft and harmful animals. If it can not be avoided that the project is located in an urban
area, it should conform with the zoning of the locality.
The surroundings must be planted with wind breakers to protect the housing and
the chickens. There are lots of plants that can be used as wind breakers such as
banana, fruit trees like datiles, and many others. These plants not only give shade and
protection, but also fruits and source of naturally occurring feedstuffs. Shed type of
roofing is highly recommended for this purpose. The housing gives the comfort needed
by chicken for there is free circulation of air in and out of the building. A roll-up curtain
(kenaf) should be provided so that in times of bad weather, it can be pulled down to give
protection to the chickens.
Chicks aging from day old to 30 days should be put inside the brooder where
temperature can be adjusted to meet the comfort zone of the chicks. But in places
without electricity or when the raiser wants to save on expenses, fostering is ideal. A
hen can be a foster to 50 chicks at a time. Intensive brooding should be provided from
day old to 15 days after which, the chicks can be on free range together with their foster
hen. During the night, the chicks with their hen should be put inside the brooder for
nocturnal predators and also to account the number of chicks. It is at this stage that
chicks require intensive care. The future of the project lies on the rate of chicks survival.
The higher the rate of survival, the greater is the number of chicken that can be sold
after three and a half to four months.
Chicks should be separated from the older ones to protect them from crushing
and have enough room for feeding. They are weak to protect themselves from the older
ones, giving them less chance of getting the right amount of feeds during feeding.
Besides, their body defense mechanism is not well developed yet, hence, are less
resistant to diseases and parasite infestation.
At one month and a half months of age, chicks can be grown together with the
rest of the flock until they are ready for market. At this age, they should already be
hardened and are expected to adapt to the environment and the competition from the
older members of the flock. Housing for breeder can also be used for growers and
fatteners.
Cleanliness should be strictly maintained in and out of the house. Remove dirt,
feces, and unnecessary things inside the house. This is one way of protecting the flock
from diseases and infestation of parasites.
Feeds and Feeding

Despite that fact that native chicken can survive under minimal care,
supplemental feeding is suggested. This is to help meet the nutrient requirement of the
fowl. The availability of naturally-occurring feedstuffs depends on the months of the
year. Continuous free-ranging of the chickens also depletes the resources especially if
their number exceeds the carrying capacity of the range.
Following are the suggested feedstuffs for formulating home-mixed rations: rice
bran, kangkong, banana stems, and madre de kakaw leaf meal. Rice bran must
comprise 50-70% of the ration. Other materials can be mixed depending on their
availability. This kind of ration is ideal during rainy months. During summer, fresh rice
hull and palay and/or corn grits will do. The rice hull can also serve as litter material in
the housing. This can be fed to breeders.
For day-old to one month old chicks, chick booster crumble feeds is given. This is
readily available in the market. Growers and fatteners can be fed with the mixture of
milled palay, corn, and when available, sorghum.
Feed chickens between 7:00 to 8:00 in the morning and 3:00 to 4:00 in the
afternoon. Chicks should be fed in feeding trough made of either GI sheet, bamboo, or
any locally available resources. Broadcasting of grain on the ground can be done on dry
conditions. It is a rule of thumb that fine feeds should be put in feeding trough.
Other Cultural Management Practices
What follows are routine to be done in a native chicken project:
Always check the nest of the hen before laying and after hatching of the eggs.
Clean the nest from contaminated nesting materials and replace it with new ones.
Before putting the materials make sure that these were sun dried for one day. This is to
get rid of any insects present on it. Leaves of adgao, sibukao, and kakawate are just
some of the few examples that can be used as nesting materials. During brooding
stage, the infestation of mites is very prevalent. Mites suck the blood of the hen.
Farmers usually use the leaves of adgao as nesting material to prevent mite infestation.
But Sevin powder can also be used by spreading the powder in between layers of
nesting materials to control this ecto-parasite.
Have the chicks and hen get inside of the brooder before night. The brooder
should be clean every day. During inclement weather condition, pull down the roll-up
canvass or kenaf curtain to conserve heat and protect the birds from strong winds.
Make sure that rats and snakes cannot enter the brooder.
Vaccinate the chicks against New Castle Diseases using the La Sota B1B1 at 710 days old, giving one drop per bird by intra-ocular, intranasal, or intra-cloacal method.
This should be followed up on at 28-35 days with plain La Sota, mixed in the drinking
water. Make sure that the chick is healthy before administering the vaccine. The
presence of any disease on the fowl will lead to its mortality. So, when the chick is
suspected to be sick, it is advised to cure the disease first.
Collect the feces everyday specially under the roost and brooder. Put it in a
container before using it for another purpose. This is one way of preventing the
decomposition of it and emitting noxious gases that may harm the flock. The feces can

be used for vermi-composting as long as it is fully decomposed. It increases in

temperature during the decomposition that will destruct the growing worm on it.
Disinfect the housing once or twice a month. There are many kinds of
disinfectant available in the market. Disinfection is killing of all pathogenic
microorganisms present in the vicinity of the project. Foot path should also be sprayed
with it.
Cost and Return Analysis
Below is the estimated cost of raising 10 heads of Darag native chicken. This
will serve as reference only to those who want to raise few breeders.
Marketing
There is no problem when it comes to marketing of native chicken. Chicken aging
four to six months old have high demand and command a good price. Each head may
cost P150 for live and P175 for dressed. Middlemen, processors, quack doctors, and
walk-in individuals are the common buyers of native chicken. This author sells his
chickens to bank employees, university faculty and staff, and to other farmers. The
chickens are sold either live or dressed.

Benefits
Slowly, the value of native chicken has been recognize. In addition to its common
contribution in the form of eggs and meat, as a source of additional income to the rural
farmers during lean months of the year and as object for recreation in the form of
cockfighting. Many people in the urban areas are now looking at the native chicken as a
source of nutritious food.
City residents who lead a more sedentary life prefer foods that are low in
cholesterol. Their preference is now shifting to the eggs coming from native chicken
which, being small, are also believed to supply a small amount of cholesterol. Aside
from that, native birds and eggs are tastier and more savory than the improved breeds.
This explains why, kilo for kilo, native poultry products are more costly than those of the
exotic breeds.
In 1998, PCCARD finally characterized the Philippine native chicken as the
common backyard fowl, which is a mixture of different breeds. They are small, active,
sensitive and capable of great flights when frightened. The hens are fairly good sitters
and mothers, but unlike the native cocks that are being raised for cockfighting and fed
with the best feed and sheltered comfortably, the native hens are not good in nests. At
best, bamboo baskets covered with dry grass of banana leaves placed under the
housed hens to serve as nests, and the trees that grow in premises serves as their
perches. Despite all these, a native chicken lays about 40-60 eggs in a year. However,

recent findings showed that wehn properly managed and fed with the right quality and
amount of feeds, tha native hen can produce as much as 130-200 eggs in a year.
They also serve as cheap source of animal protein through their meat and eggs.
Although native chickens grow at a slower rate and produce less number of eggs than
improved commercial breeds, meat from native chickens are preferred by many
Filipinos because of taste, leanness, pigmentation and sustainability for special dishes.