Breeding and caring for darag native chickens – Manila Bulletin

They got here from the mountain forests of Western Visayas. What had been as soon as crimson jungle fowl surviving within the wild advanced to the native chickens now referred to as darag.

Darag are characterised by their single comb, whitish earlobes, and grey shanks, which is the a part of the leg above their claws. Male darag chickens have crimson and black feathers whereas females have yellowish-brown feathers. 

In deciding on breeder shares, select pullets and cockerels that come from a flock of good-laying hens and enormous roosters. Breeder shares needs to be uniform in age and weight, they usually should even be free from illness and abnormalities. The perfect weight for breeder shares is 800g whereas the best ratio is 5 hens for each one rooster.

Free vary methodology of feeding darag chickens

Free chickens are glad chickens. By giving them house to roam, darag chickens get to be extra bodily energetic, which helps them develop more healthy meat and eggs. 

To boost darag chickens utilizing the  free vary methodology, the ranging space will need to have crops and greens which darag chickens can eat. Such crops embrace mani-mani (Desmodium triflorum), kangkong (Ipomoea aquatica), and kamote (Ipomoea batatas). Farmers may also domesticate azolla ferns (Azolla filiculoides), which is a viable supply of feed for darag chickens.

Farmers may complement the food plan of darag chickens with corn, rice barn, business feed, and different greens.

When establishing a spread, be sure that the world ought to comprise 10 sq. meters for each rooster. Further concerns are the slope of the vary, which needs to be 20-45 levels to keep away from floods and water-borne ailments. A fringe fence should even be erected to guard chickens from snakes, canine, cats, and rats.

Caring for darag rooster eggs

Darag hens begin to lay eggs when they’re between 18-20 weeks previous, and can proceed to take action till they’re 24 months previous.

When hens are prepared to put eggs, place them on nesting bins, which needs to be in an space that’s each darkish and quiet. This can present a way of safety to the hens, which can encourage them to put eggs. Farmers may place dried lemongrass or banana leaves within the nesting field to discourage mites, which wish to reside on the pores and skin of chickens.

As soon as hens begin laying, eggs could be collected day by day. The perfect weight of an egg is between 40-50g. Farmers in search of to promote the eggs might retailer them in a fridge at 16 °C. If a fridge shouldn’t be obtainable, farmers might retailer eggs at room temperature however should be sure that eggs are shielded from the warmth.

Farmers in search of to boost extra darag chickens ought to think about synchronizing the hatching of eggs from a number of hens to streamline the manufacturing course of. There’s a methodology referred to as synchronized pure incubation by which eggs from a gaggle of hens are collected and solely returned to them when all of the hens show broodiness, or the inclination in the direction of incubating their eggs.

Hens which are broody cease laying eggs. They are going to have a tendency to take a seat on their clutch of eggs and grow to be protecting of them. They are going to refuse to depart the nesting field and perhaps even peck farmers making an attempt to hold them away. In an effort to look more durable, hens will even fluff their feathers to make themselves seem greater.

If farmers don’t wish to rely upon their hens to incubate the eggs, they could use synthetic incubators as an alternative. To synchronize the hatching of a number of eggs via this methodology, farmers might inventory eggs earlier than inserting a batch in an incubator. It is very important notice that eggs can solely be saved exterior an incubator for a most of ten days to make sure that they’ll nonetheless hatch.

Eggs will hatch after 21 days. Place the hatched chicks in a brooder home to supply them with heat and shelter. They might have to be saved on this atmosphere till they’re 20 days previous. Afterwards, chicks have to be ‘hardened,’ which implies that they have to be ready for the farm atmosphere earlier than setting them free on the vary. The chickens will proceed to mature and will probably be prepared for slaughter by their fourth month. By then, they might weigh between 1-1.2kg, which is the load most popular by these concerned available in the market.

Well being administration and biosecurity measures

Caring for darag chickens additionally means defending them from ailments. Prevention is all the time higher than treatment so the next measures search to keep away from ailments from occurring within the first place.

Darag chickens have to be dewormed each two months. Homeowners might use pure dewormers just like the ethnobotanical dewormer developed by Capaz State College. This dewormer was made to focus on roundworms, and is created from a mixture of betel nut (Areca catechu) and seeds of ipil-ipil (Leucaena leucocephala). The dosage of this dewormer is 2 grams per kilogram weight of a darag rooster.

Pure options to deworm darag chickens are papaya seeds, oregano, turmeric, and garlic.

Farmers should additionally vaccinate darag chickens in opposition to Newcastle illness (NCD) 4 months earlier than they begin laying eggs. Farmers can use an oil emulsion NCD vaccine, which can be ordered from the workplace of the Division of Agriculture – Area 7.

Caring for the well being of darag chickens additionally consists of concerns for the continuing avian influenza. Biosecurity measures have to be noticed to keep away from the unfold of the illness. Such measures embrace the isolation of sick and newly purchased chickens, common disinfection of services, and  correct disposal of lifeless birds.

Farmers are inspired to breed darag chickens in the event that they wish to produce more healthy chickens. farmers might seek the advice of and buy breeder shares from Capiz State College, Western Visayas State College, and the Panay Darag Breeders Affiliation. Worth ranges from P500-600.

The knowledge offered right here was taken from a presentation entitled “Breeding and Collection of Darag Native Hen” by Dr. Maryneth B. Barrios of the Capiz State College. The presentation was a part of the know-how discussion board on native chickens in the course of the Native Animals Honest organized by the Division of Science and Expertise (DOST) – Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Pure Sources (PCAARD).

The screenshots had been taken from an data bulletin about darag native rooster ready by DOST – PCAARD.