Chicken coops plans

ILOILO CITYIt may not be the toast of fast-food chains that favor plump breasts and tubby thighs but the demand for native chicken is increasing because of the growing preference for lean and healthy source of food.

Scientists are now having a second look at native chicken, locally known as darag, which is the strain indigenous and most dominant in Western Visayas. Government agencies are coming up with a package of technology on breeding and marketing native chicken.

Bernabe Cocjin, a retired professor and former president of Western Visayas State University, who did pioneering studies on darag since 1985, said native chicken-raising should meet the demand of the niche market that is partial to organically grown or naturally raised food.

These consumers are discriminating and willing to pay more. They are after flavor, not the size, said Cocjin.

The US-trained researchers have neglected native chicken in favor of foreign-breeds in the 1950s up to the 80s, says Cocjin. But todays health-conscious individuals prefer native chicken that are free-range and without antibiotics.

In the Western Visayas region, the task of promoting native chicken falls on the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) through its regional associate, the Western Visayas Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (WESVARRDEC). The WVSU is in charge of darag research.

In 2004, government agencies in Iloilo organized Manokan Festival during the Agriculture Food Fair. The festival included lectures on native chicken and a display of cooked native chicken from research stations and from a popular restaurant, Tatoys Manokan. The following year, PCARRD approved eight projects on native chicken that include studies on feed and value-added products.

Cocjin says the Philippine native chicken evolved from breeds that can thrive even in the most marginal environment and with minimal intervention. The darag, a strain dominant in Panay, Negros and Guimaras islands, was said to have evolved from Red Jungle Fowl (Gallus gallus bankiva)

Darag means yellow in Hiligaynon and the native chicken is so named because of its yellowish plumage. The rooster displays shiny red plumage with light brown hackle and black feathers on its tail. The hen has yellowish-brown plumage with yellow streaks. The eggs hatch from 18 to 21 days and the chicks go through brooding for 20 days. With minimal feeding, the chicks become hardened when left to grow in the backyard or fields, scratching for worms and anything that fancy them. The chicken are matured between 75 days to 120 days.

Native chicken is known for its distinct flavor and lean meat. Cocjin says that the unique taste is due to the presence of aspartic acid, a free amino acid in their bodies.

Aspartic acid, which is among the building blocks of protein, helps the chicken grow muscles faster. But since native chicken are smaller and grow more slowly than the other type. The chicken are leaner from having enough exercise as they are usually left free to roam around.

Western Visayas is the top producer of native chicken. The 2002 inventory showed that the region has 11,400 heads or 15 percent of the total native chicken production in the country. Central Visayas is a far second with 7,000 heads.

In his research, Cocjin has collected a breeding flock of darag and purified the stock by inbreeding for eight generations. He has now an elite flock for the production of hardened chicks for distribution to poultry raisers. Cocjins selected native chicken can weigh up to 1 kilogram at 90 to 100 days old. For his work, Cocjin was awarded the 2003 Distinguished Animal Scientists Award by the Philippine Society of Animal Science (PSAS).

A 2002 study conducted by Enrique Altis and Jaime Cabarles of Central Philippine University, Iloilo, noted that native chicken get premium prices when traded along Rizal Street in front of Iloilo Central Market during Fridays and Sundays. Younger upgraded chicken or free-range broilers are also sold but at a lesser price compared to pure native chicken.

The study said Iloilo City consumes 1,785 heads of native chicken a day but it could reach up to 2,600 heads daily during the months of October to February. A slight decrease in consumption is felt during the lean months from May to August.

There could be a hundred recipes for native chicken but the more popular in Iloilo is roasted or lechon manok, barbecue on spit, adobo and tinu-om. Lechon manok is whole roasted chicken, rubbed with spices and stuffed with lemon grass. Tatoys Manokan and Breakthrough, two popular restaurants in Iloilo City, sell lechon manok at P225 and P220, respectively.

Cocjin says the chemical analysis of lechon manok shows moisture at 58 to 60 percent; ash, 2.40-2.60 percent; energy, 1576-171 kcal/gram; total fat, 1.90-2.50 percent; total carbohydrates, 0 percent; protein, 34.40-37.10 percent; calcium, 12.30-15.70 percent.

Chicken barbecue on spit is popular in public markets while adobo, which is chicken stewed in vinegar, soy sauce and spices is available in countless eateries all over the city.

Tinu-om is a speciality dish of chicken soup with basic spices and small knot of lemon grass and placed on double layers of banana leaves. Each bundle is made to sit inside a pot of boiling water until the chicken softens and combine with the spices to become the flavorful, life-affirming soup. Many restaurants offering Ilonggo cuisine offers tinu-om but the best tinu-om is said to come from Cabatuan town, 24 km from Iloilo City. The town holds a festival to showcase tinu-om.

Tests have been conducted on processing and vacuum-packed chicken products like lechon, adobo and tinu-om. For example, a vacuum-packed tinu-om keeps for 21 days in the freezer and six days in the refrigerator. If kept on room temperature, it has to be eaten within the day it was cooked.