The Chickens That Laid Golden Eggs – A PH Story

With this, Reader, you will realize that we Filipinos have had those Golden Hens – so I am calling for raising of PH native chickens in the entire archipelago, in thousands of islands. (golden eggs image from Fine Art America[1])

With Secretary of Agriculture William Dar/Manong Willie, if the PH Department of Agriculture, DA, produce enough stocks of native chickens for 7 selected regions of the country – the agency under it, the Bureau of Animal Industry, BAI, could if they would – we Filipinos would be witness to many a vibrant PH poultry businesses: eggs, raw meats, processed meats, even pre-cooked whole chickens, and the live birds themselves.

It would be the Golden Age of Chickens the entire world has never witnessed before!

I don’t know why no Secretary of Agriculture has ever pursued a native chicken program in this country: Poor taste?

You don’t have to import anything to grow the native chickens into a multi-billion peso industry. Of the fowl, the Philippines has at least 7 strains, according to Zac Sarian (Zac B. Sarian[2]): (1) the Banaba from Batangas, (2) Boholano from Bohol, (3) Bolinao from Pangasinan, (4) Camarines from the Bicol Region, (5) Darag from Panay, (6) Paraoakan from Palawan, and (7) Zampen from Zamboanga. I will add the (8) Joloano from Basilan, from the Philippine Native Animals 150-page book I edited & produced for the National Swine & Poultry Research & Development Center, NSPRDC, published in 2016 and authored by Angel Lambio, Rene Santiago and Karen Dimaranan; here is the complete title:

PHILIPPINE NATIVE ANIMALS
Source Of Pride & Wealth Worth Conserving & Utilizing

The native animals are carabaos, chickens, cows, ducks, goats, horses, and pigs.

I don’t know why no one has ever campaigned for a national production program using our native chickens.

In his Foreword to the book, UPLB poultry scientist Lambio said that the following are the attractions of native animals – and they fit perfectly well applied to native chickens, as they are sources of:

(1) pride

(2) distinctive desirable taste

(3) high-quality protein

(4) high income (meat, milk, eggs)

(5) added income (processed products)

(6) recreation

(7) healthful foods.

With or without the lockdown, it now has come to the point where in the Philippines you have to watch out for imported meat that may or may not be tainted with problematic microorganisms like viruses that kill animals – and humans – mercilessly.

So how about a national production campaign by the DA-BAI on our golden-egg-laying birds? The natives are that good!

I am thinking of 7 regions raising their own local endemic native chicken strain, no inter-island competition except for taste.

Food products, pick your choice! Whole chickens, half-chickens, wings, breasts, drumsticks – don’t forget the buckets – the whole family would be fighting for any of those parts, all insanely delicious to the taste! Even in history, it has always been the natives who have excited the discoverers.

For the feeds, noimported ingredients, no added vitamins, no minerals, no antibiotics, no growth hormones necessary!

Golden meats from golden eggs!@517

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[1]https://fineartamerica.com/featured/golden-eggs-golden-eggs-golden-chicken-hatched-from-a-golden-egg-igor-klyakhin.html

[2]https://zacsarian.com/getting-to-know-the-native-chickens-of-the-philippines/