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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

GAMEFOWL INDUSTRY BENEFITS SMALL BREEDERS IN OTON, ILOILO

The Philippines is now acknowledged as the center of the game fowl industry of the world after the game fowl raising and its attendant sport, cockfighting haVE become an outlawed activity in the United States of America. While no exact figures can be gathered, the industry is booming and is impacting a wide cross section of the economy and social life of Filipinos.

Ilonggos and Negrenses are known widely as the pioneers of scientific breeding and the fowls raised in these parts and fowls coming from here are sold to all parts of the country at prices higher than those locally grown there. We also have the reputation of having the knack for selecting the better fighters and this had added to a reputation of excellence among breeders big and small.

Aside from the ubiquitous gamefowls, there are many other income earning sub-industries within the large industry system that when studied closely would show that the game fowl industry is one that should be promoted enhanced and preserved. Game fowl raising needs support sub-system players like the makers of tie-cords so that the roosters are anchored in place and makers of tepees or the structures that shade them from the harsh elements. There are also those who make other paraphernalia like gloves for chickens, tapes, scabbards and knives. These artisans are otherwise unemployed and their income derived from these livelihood activities are their only means to support their families and send their children to school.

Take the case of two small scale breeders in Brgy. San Nicolas, Oton, Iloilo. Nelson “Tandok” Tingzon had been growing gamefowls for more than 20 years already. He recalls that even as a child he helped his father take care of their chickens which when sold provide food and some extras for other necessities. Rommel Planta has an almost the same story. He also grew up around chickens and he loved the selling aspect because he and his friends can sell their chickens at several times the price of chickens intended for meat.

 Nelson and Rommel have no other means of livelihood except raising game fowls. Being already well-versed on the breeding aspect, they make sure that their breeders are well selected and often, they come from known breeders or from their buyers who want them to breed a certain type which they will exclusively buy from him. And they don't simply take the word of others when it comes to selection. They have their own set of criteria developed through their long years of hands-on breeding.

Breeding for true to type individuals and for performance.

One breed that they both maintain are the Sweater fowls, said to be originated by Mr. Sweater McGinnis, an American breeder of the 1930s to the 1950s. These fowls are light red, bordering on pumpkin color and are well liked by many because of their fighting style and is said to be one of the outstanding breeds in the Philippine cockfighting scene. Nelson and Romel have their own version of the Sweaters and they say that each year they sell more than 100 each for this type of fowl. What they breed it with is their secret though. They say that they mate their outstanding Sweater brood cocks with hens whose brothers have also performed in the pit as fought by their buyers.

They also have other breeds like the High Action Hatch crossed or tinted with Mc Lean or Gilmore blood, both of which are green or blue legged types which are said to provide speed, power and gameness. Nelson says that he bred his High Action Hatch hens to a Gilmore Hatch brood cock provided to him by Dr. Pepe Sullano. He is very happy with the offsprings since he has already sold more than 60 heads at a good price of not less than P4,500.00 each. With that sales alone he said that he has already recovered ;his feed expenses for this year and expect that the more than 150 stags that are still maturing will somehow bring him more than what he expects.

Rommel on the other hand had been supplied by his customers and friends with top rated brood materials. “I would not like to divulge the friends and customers who provided my brood stocks because they want it that way. They also have exclusive right to my stags that is why every stock that I raise is considered sold already. I cannot produce enough because it gets sold anyway”, says Rommel. Both he and Nelson are still breeding this off-season (May to September) because there are buyers who still buy those late produce since cockfighting is non-stop especially in Manila.

Game fowl raising as a way of life.

“Breeding game fowls have been my main occupation since I got married from which I have raised my family. My eldest son had graduated and is already on board a ship as a sailor and I have high hopes that like the other seamen who had prospered, he will also help us economically as he progresses in his career. My second son is graduating from the Hotel and Restaurant Management course. My youngest is still in the elementary grades. With tuition fees and their daily school needs so expensive these days I culd not have afforded their schooling had I just taken manual labor which pays minimum wage”, says Nelson.

Everybody in the family helps. His wife being very supportive tends to the incubator and the chicks that is why they can hatch more than 500 each year and on a 50/50 ratio of males to females, they can easily mature 250 or more stags or cockerels every year. Nelson and his children tend to feeding and other chores. We use only the best feeds available to other breeders and feeders of game fowls. “We don't scrimp on feeds because it shows on the health, size, height and conformation of the stags and cocks we produce. Since cockfighting is competitive and there is only one bottom line which is to win, our buyers demand value for their money”.

Both Nelson and Rommel provide employment indirectly to others in the neighborhood. Their tepees are made by laborers who charge them P120.00 per unit and Rommel said that the materials cost about P50-60 and the rest is labor for the makers. A maker he said can make 5-6 units daily with some help, often from their own children. They also need 500 or so tie cords which they use to anchor the legs of their chickens. A tie cord costs P8.00 per unit so between the two of us, we buy about P8,000 worth of tie cords every year. A family making these can produce this in two weeks' time and their cost of materials is just about P3,000 thus making for them an income of about P5,000.00 in two weeks.

Game fowl breeding provides food directly and indirectly. Indirectly, when the choice stags and cocks are sold at a good price and used to buy rice and other food items. Directly, when undersized and culls are slaughtered for the table. Extra eggs are also eaten, often hard boiled and brought by the children to school as snacks. “Our children are healthy and active because they get to eat high levels of protein from chicken meat and eggs”, says Rommel.

The game is now competitive. With two major federations of breeders nationwide and an almost non-stop competition, the demand for quality stags and cocks have increased. We are often visited by buyers who say that they were referred by their friends who have bought from us and want to buy the same types as those bought in the previous years because they said that they saw them win. We cannot refuse them and they just added to our list of customers.

“We don't fight our roosters anymore. Our buyers do it for us. We just sell and somehow these buyers come back year after year because they are satisfied with the stocks they bought. Since we also improve our breeds according to their suggestions, they usually buy the new offspring where they had a hand in selecting the brood stocks.

“This is our livelihood and our passion. While some may say that this is gambling, for us this is survival and our chance for a better life. We have not finished school and we don't have other means to support our families. We cannot leave this industry that has provided us with a decent life”, both Rommel and Nelson concluded.