Pera ni Juan

Being Organic! It's now popular nowadays and being organic is nice way of living a healthy lifestyle. Free range chickens is one of them. These chickens are more healthy compared to chickens that are raised in big commercial farms. Why? Because everything they eat is organic. They eat any organic material that are found in the soil that they are being kept.

One good thing about free range chicken is that they don't have "salmonella". It's a virus that came from commercial raised chicken where it can inflict humans.

So if you want to indulge into free range chicken you can look up for Solraya Sunshine free range chickens. If you want to become successful in raising free-range chickens, study these effective tips from Dr. Rey Itchon, a veterinarian and advocate of Sunshine Free-range Chickens in the Philippines. He always shared these tips to his attendees in all his seminars on raising free-range chickens.

1. Be sure to prepare the place for birds before ordering them. The first 21 days are very critical. That’s the period for brooding. The chicks should be placed in an enclosed but well ventilated enclosure not accessible to cats and rats that might eat them. And provide one square foot space per bird.

2. Newspaper may be used as bedding for the first few days. Don’t use plastic sheet as this will not absorb the moisture in the manure. After several days, the bedding might be changed with fresh rich hull or better still, carbonized rice husk.

3. The brooding area should be provided with heat to keep them warm. The source of heat might be an electric bulb, LPG or charcoal. In using electric bulb, Dr. Itchon recommends one watt per bird. A 100-watt bulb is good for 100 chicks. But the bulb should be placed at the right height. If it is placed too high, the heat might not be enough. It is easy to know if the heat is just right. The birds are not crowded and are well distributed below the light.

4. When the day-old chicks are newly arrived from the supplier, don’t feed them right away. Instead, give them water added with 1 teaspoon of brown sugar. This will rehydrate the chicks. After several hours, you can give them chick booster feed. Don’t feed them with rice. The birds can’t digest the rice grains, and rice don’t have enough nutrients.

5. After 21 days, released the chicks from the brooding house when they are fully feathered. They are ready for the range. The range maybe an enclosure where there are grasses for them to eat. They may be given also commercial feed to supplement the grasses and insect they eat in the range. This will give them a boost to grow faster.

6. If there is only one enclosure, green feeds could be grown elsewhere then cut and carried to the birds. These could include Napier grass, ipil-ipil, madre de agua, green corn stover, legume and the like.

7. If there is ample space, several grassy enclosures may be made for the birds to be release on a rotation basis. Fish net is a practical material for enclosing the chicken range. A simple housing is required. This will be their home at night and protection from inclement weather.

8. Clean everyday the waterers and the feeding troughs. Bacteria and other harmful organisms thrive under dirty conditions and they will hamper the growth of the chickens.

9. Strengthen the immune system of the range chickens. Vaccinate the chicks with B1B1 on the seventh day and B1 Lasota strain on the 14th day. This will help protect them from diseases. The vaccines are simply applied through the drinking water.

10. Add Biolyte, a formulation of vitamins, mineral and beneficial microorganisms produced by Dr. Rene Sumaoang of Novatech Agri-Foods Industries. With enhanced immune system, the chickens are able to better withstand diseases and other stresses.

Additional Tips From Andry Lim and Rafael Onggona

Andry Lim: Mixes finely chopped bamboo leaves in your feeds during the first day of feeding. Bamboo leaves will lengthen the intestines of the chicks. This will enable chicks to ingest and absorb more nutrients that make them grow faster.

Rafael Onggona: Chickens suffering with colds can be given one teaspoon of VCO per bird. It work like miracle for Mr. Onggona, for his suffering birds became well right in the next day. He administered the virgin coconut oil by means of a dropper.

There are many people who are in to organic and marketing your free range chickens won't be a problem. Start with a small population then expand by adding more birds.
Organic is the way of the future and free range chickens will not only give you profit but will promote a good healthy lifestyle.