Tuesday, November 8, 2011

New outlets in la union and ilocos area (as of day two)

good news for our fellow free-range chicken friends up north! we have new outlets for easier purchase of bounty fresh free-range day-old chicks! some stores will just be accepting orders while some would eventually display day-old chicks. i will just keep you posted.

1. rosario, la union

dacanay poultry supply
public market, rosario, la union

blessed hope agricultural supply
public market, rosario, la union

2. agoo, la union

jeffrey's feeds supply
Cases blvd. (near agoo hypermarket)
agoo, la union

3. aringay, la union

claus breed farm and agricultural supply
Yaranon st. public market
aringay, la union

4. san fernando city

Jong Juan Trading
P. Burgos st. (across san fernando wet market)
san fernando city, la union

VHF poultry supply
P. Burgos st. corner Don Joaquin st.
San Fernando City, La union

5. San Juan, La Union

Charlmie's Farm Supply
Maharlika Highway (San Gabriel crossing)
San Juan, La Union

6. Bacnotan, La Union

Lozano Agricultural Supply
Bacnotan public market
Bacnotan, La Union

7. Balaoan, La Union

Marron Enterprises
Balaoan public market
Balaoan, La Union

Aida's farm supply
Balaoan public market
Balaoan, La Union

8. Bangar, La Union

Flores Farm Supply
Bangar public market\
Bangar, La Union

9. Tagudin, Ilocos Sur

Licudine Farm Supply
Tagudin public market
Tagudin, Ilocos Sur

10. Santa Cruz, Ilocos Norte

Habon Farm Supply
Santa Cruz public market
Santa Cruz, Ilocos Norte

11. Candon City, Ilocos Sur

CTG poultry supply
San Juan St. 
Candon City, Ilocos Sur

12. Narvacan, Ilocos Sur

Joil's Farm Supply
Narvacan public market
Narvacan, Ilocos sur

additional outlets will be posted as I push further north. thank you!

Monday, November 7, 2011

la union-ilocos sur-ilocos norte trip!

I wished I have posted this sooner but as they say, better late than never! :) From Novemeber 7-10 (yes, I already concluded my first day and I am already in San Fernando City, La Union), I will be making a trip within the provinces of La Union, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur to bring Bounty Fresh Free-range chicken more accessible to all of our country men interested to start raising free-range chickens. I will be approaching over-the-counter stores (poultry supplies) and convince them hopefully to sell Bounty Fresh Free-range day-old chicks. I might not be able to cover all of the three (3) provinces in four (4) days but I hope to be productive nonetheless. For my first day, here are some of the newly opened outlets :)

1. rosario, la union

dacanay poultry supplypublic market, rosario, la union

blessed hope agricultural supply
public market, rosario, la union

2. agoo, la union

jeffrey's feeds supply
Cases blvd. (near agoo hypermarket)
agoo, la union

3. aringay, la union

claus breed farm and agricultural supply
Yaranon st. public market
aringay, la union

4. san fernando city

Jong Juan Trading
P. Burgos st. (across san fernando wet market)
san fernando city, la union

VHF poultry supply
P. Burgos st. corner Don Joaquin st.
San Fernando City, La union

I will be posting more outlets as I keep pushing up further north! 

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Why you can trust on us to continuously provide you with high quality free-range day-old chicks

Last Wednesday, I visited one of our breeder flocks going into production. I was once part of our breeder technical group and it was good to be back in my old environment after being away from it for two years now. I could say our breeder management has gone a long way since I first started working for Bounty Fresh. Operational and structural biosecurity improved by leaps and bounds. Our breeder guys have also several cycles  under their belt for managing colored breeder stocks and have a very good grasp of how to manage them. 

Parent stock operations is a highly technical operations. There are lots of things to consider for you to come up with a very good performance. Lighting, feeding, litter, male, female, body weight management all account for a successful or failed performance. For you to get a glimpse of how we take care of our parent stocks,
let me take you for a tour of our Bounty Fresh Free-range parent stock farm!

Vehicle being sprayed with disinfectant, wheel, sides and all
Before entering the farm, all vehicles will be subjected to inspection and disinfectant spray. Vehicles coming from other farms or places carrying equipment and people are one of the most important mode of spreading disease. It is therefore important that this cycle be broken before entering the farm. Vehicles coming from places or farms with ongoing or suspected disease outbreaks are not permitted to inside the farm premises.

Sides and roof also needs to be disinfected

foot bath before entering the farm
All people inside the vehicle must all alight and dip their footwear in the foot bath in the dirty area before proceeding.
Logbook contains important information about the visitor
After dipping their footwear in the foot bath at the dirty area, all visitors and employees are required to log in and provide all information asked in the logbook. Information such as name, affiliation, purpose, place last visited, place to be visited next, vehicle plate number, time in and out, and other pertinent information are included in the logbook for the purpose of tracking, security, accountability, and prevention of diseases. Even regular employees of the company regularly going in and out of the farm are required to fill in every time the enter the farm.

slippers to be used in the dirty area
 After logging in, visitors are then required to remove their foot wears and use slippers provided by the farm to be used around the dirty area only. This reduces the risk of spreading infectious organisms within the dirty area.

personal foot wear surrendered at the guard house
 After changing into the farm's slipper's, all will have to proceed to the shower room. Any personal items like phones, cameras, eyeglasses, etc. that needs to be brought inside the clean area will have to be subjected under UV light to kill any infectious organisms clinging to these items. These items may then be recovered after showering from the clean area.

UV lamp to kill any infectious organisms before entering the clean area

Outside clothes will have to be left behind before entering the shower area. All will have to shower properly to wash off any dirt and infectious organisms. After showering, all are then required to pass through the "body dip", a deep walkway filled with disinfectant to kill any organisms not washed off during bathing.


"body dip" area currently drained to replace disinfectants for maximum efficacy

After the body dip, you can now dry off and change into the scrub suits provided by the farm. Black rubber boots are then available to be used inside the clean area but not inside the buildings. Before leaving the shower room, foot baths are provided.

black rubber boots used exclusively used in the clean area

Before entering the buildings, another set of foot baths need to be used. Covering for the disinfectants are provided when not in use to prevent exposing the disinfectants from direct sunlight which can deactivate the active ingredients and render the bath ineffective.

covered foot baths before entering the building

 After using the foot baths, all will then have to change their rubber boots from the black ones into the white ones that are exclusively used inside the buildings. This boots are not to be used outside the buildings.


white rubber boots for exclusive use inside the buildings
visitors changing from black to white rubber boots once they enter the buildings
After changing into the white rubber boots, all will then have to use hand sprays to disinfect exposed skin except the face before entering the house. This prevents any microorganisms from entering the houses.

hand sprays for further disinfection
After all these precautionary measures, you are finally inside the buildings were the breeders are housed. All these procedures are necessary to prevent or reduce the risk of infectious microorganisms from entering the house and causing disease within the flock. Higher biosecurity is needed for breeder flocks since any disease condition may affect their productivity, performance, and eventually, the quality of the chicks they produce.

Our very good-looking breeder flocks
Uniformed breeders translate to uniformed chicks


Aside from the biosecurity set-up of our farm, we also recognize the the importance of investing in other facilities and practices to further improve our operations. this includes:

uniformed flock men
Flock men, supervisors, and visitors are provided with uniforms so that they will not use their personal and street clothes while inside the farm. Uniforms are necessary not only because they are good to look at but also because they can minimize the movement of infectious organisms if there are any from one farm to another. Infectious organisms can cling to clothes and other materials and can be spread when a person may visit another farm.

cleanliness of service area
clean service table minimizes the risk of hatching egg contamination

Cleanliness is also clearly stressed inside the farm may it be inside or outside the buildings. Garbage and other trash if not removed or cleaned, can attract insects like flies which can be a vector or carrier of clinically important diseases of chickens. Also, unclean environments will promote the growth and proliferation of microorganisms which can be detrimental to our flock.

bell drinkers are cleaned daily
Water is a very important nutrient that is often overlooked but not in our operations. Extension veterinarians, farm managers and supervisors make sure that bell drinkers are cleaned as often as necessary. Water lines are also regularly checked for build up of biofilm. Unclean drinkers will promote the growth of microorganisms and can contaminate the water that comes in contact with it.

perches to train the breeders before introduction of nests
We have started handling free-range breeders since 2008 and through experience, we have adjusted and adapted practices that best suit our operations which also promotes better breeder performance.

recording of everything to assess performance

Everyone knows that keeping records will aid you in assessing performances of your operations and will help you adjust during the subsequent grows. Bounty Fresh Food Inc. have a very good structure for its record keeping from day-old until the flock  is culled.

hand tractor with covering to transport hatching eggs

plastic strips to prevent escape of cool air from inside the egg room
hatching eggs stored in crates for transport

As a breeder farm, it also necessary that we have structures to store our hatching eggs. For starters, we have a covered cart to transport hatching eggs from the building to the egg room. This is necessary to protect the eggs from direct sunlight and also to prevent sudden temperature changes that can kill the embryo inside the egg. Air-conditioned egg rooms to store hatching eggs prior to transport to hatcheries.

And all of that somewhat concludes our tour of our breeder operations. There are still  lots of things we do or have that contributes to our successful breeder operations but what i have discussed above are some of the more important ones. Bounty Fresh management recognizes the investments that need to be done for a very good breeder performance as we believe that healthy breeders are necessary to produce high quality day-old chicks for our operations  and for our market. So you can always count on us to continuously provide you guys with high-quality free-range day-old chicks for your own operations. Next time you get hold of our  chicks, remember how much care and effort we have invested to bring you the best quality chicks for your operations!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

chicken tornado



This video/pictures is/are sometimes what city dwellers, people who are surrounded by an endless forest of concrete structures every single day, pay for to experience or dream about after retiring. The lush greens of mountain sides, the unadultered fresh air, the cool river waters teeming with fish, and the animals and plants they grow with their own hands. I don't know about other people, but for me, it is always a good feeling the moment i hit the outskirts of a big city like Manila. When concrete skyscrapers slowly give way to grasslands and eventually surrender to mountains and seas. When cramped urban spaces open up to the rural plains and sweltering heat succumb to the cool wisps of countryside air. Growing up in Mindanao for all of my childhood has given me the need for a dose of rural setting every now and then and has implanted in me the goal that someday I will be a humble farmer feeding thousands of our countrymen.



Going back to the video, it is such a joy when you see the animals you have been taking care of are healthy and growing nicely. For free-range chickens, it is such a nice feeling to see them foraging around, dust bathing, and running after insects or from their brothers and sisters who also wants the food dangling from their beaks. Although it is a treat to see them with a good appetite for their food, this video also shows a flock management mistake that can ruin your chickens in the long run. Very hungry chickens scramble for food, and they literally are focused on getting to that food source no matter what. This scrambling for food can lead to mechanical problems like lameness, skin abrasions due to trampling that can further lead to infection, or at the worse, death due to trampling. These situations can be very stressful to your birds and can deteriorate their health. These can be caused by:
                    -underfeeding (giving less than their physiological needs)
                    -too long interval between feeding
Underfeeding can be due to low feed allocation compared to what they really need. Feed wastage can also contribute by lowering the actual feed consumption of the chickens. This scrambling behavior is very favorable for feed wastage as they fight for space, a lot of the feeds can fall out of the feeders and through the flooring where they cannot access it.

To prevent this situation, make sure that you feed them the right amount of feeds for their age. Keep in mind that you have to increase feed allocation as the bird grows. Give ample feeder space to prevent feed wastage and also use the appropriate feeder. You can do twice a day feeding or once a day but make sure feed  allocation per bird is appropriate to prevent competition for food. Remember that you should have a good feeding management for a successful free-range chicken production.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Check the labels!

Check on the packaging that it is grown for at least 56 days

There is a reason why Bounty Fresh, PAFPAI, Pamora Farm, or every serious free-range chicken farmer wants to grow free-range chicken for at least 56 days and spend a sizable amount of time in the ranging area. Slow-growing and free-ranging your chickens will add flavor to it's  meat because you are giving more time for the chicken to assimilate the flavors it has eaten in the ranging area.

The grasses, leaves, stems, grubs, insects, and minerals it has ingested from the ranging area will all contribute to the taste of the free-range chicken's meat. The running, flying, scratching, dust bathing, and foraging will also develop the meat quality of free-range chickens by giving them a more stringy and chewy texture. Growing your free-range chickens for at least 56 days will also give time for the naturally occurring hormones (particularly sexual hormones that influence secondary sexual characteristics) to kick in and influence the flavors of it's meat and the shape of its body. You do not get this in white industrial broilers because they are slaughtered at a tender age of 35 days or earlier. For free-range chicken flocks, you can distinctly differentiate the male from the females because the sexual dimorphism is clearly evident.

All of this are the reasons why our native chicken has such a "native"chicken taste and because it is slow growing, it has around 120 days to develop it's meat taste. With access to the ranging area for a very long period of time, it's meat develops the distinctive taste of native chicken...so make sure that the free-range chickens you are buying has been grown for at least 56 days for you to get the best value for your money.

Gawad Kalinga Enchanted Farm free-range meat-type flock


My second visit to check on Gawad Kalinga's free-range flock turned out to be a pleasant one. There are still no mortalities (all 102 of them) and the rice hull litter i requested to be placed inside the brooder was dry and doing its job to keep the chicks warm and absorb moisture from their droppings. One thing i noticed though was the chicks were a bit not uniformed in size, i immediately checked the feeders and found out the number of feeders were insufficient for the size of the flock. Also checked their crops or "butse" and expectedly found out that some have feeds while others have none. Insufficient feeder space will lead to chicks scrambling for food and competing for feeder space. Eventually, uneven feed distribution among the flock will lead to some chicks not able to feed causing runting and obvious disparity in size. If feeding space is not corrected, size difference will further be more pronounced as bigger chicks will continue to "outbox" smaller chicks leading them to grow larger while the smaller chicks who gets deprived of feed, will continue to have a stunted growth. 
litter and chicks both dry and doing good!

I will be visiting the farm again next week and hopefully feeder space has already been corrected and addressed. Gawad Kalinga is also constructing new ranging buildings and ranging areas for their additional flocks and I will be looking forward to continue to assist them and provide technical information about raising their free-range chickens! Will just keep you posted for updates on their flock :)

two-week old chicks curious about their outside environment. They will be  feeling  the outdoors in a weeks time!


very alert and healthy chicks :)



curious about the camera that's why they are straining their necks for a better view

one of the additional ranging houses built by the farm


existing ranging house for their current native chicken flocks

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Guest speaker at Sir Nelson Lubao's radio program SikaPinoy!







Yesterday, I was guest speaker of DZMM's SikaPinoy hosted by Mr. Nelson Lubao. It is an entrepreneural show that gives ideas to Filipinos who wants to engage in small to medium-sized businesses. The radio program was aired from 8-9AM every Sunday and was also broadcasted live in DZMM's teleradyo. I got a taste of what it is to be like to be "celebrity" when a make up artist came to me and applied powdery stuff on my face before the show. It was just too rare of an opportunity to pass up for a photo so i asked my companion to take a photo of me while make up was applied on my face :) I was a bit uneasy at first since it was my first time to do an interview one-on-one. But Sir Nelson immediately put me at ease and I was off and away discussing free-range chickens with him and all of the listeners. This part of our company's responsibility to raise awareness among Filipinos about the presence, advantages, and benefits of free-range chicken.

I was very happy to know that a lot of our countrymen were interested in free-range chicken production as i was peppered with text messages after i announced my mobile number on air. Inquiries came in as far as tawi-tawi in the south and Ilocos Norte in the north. We will hopefully do more of these kind of interviews to educate and raise awareness among us, Filipinos about the basics of free-range chicken production.