A primer on free range chicken production and management

PART 1: BREEDS AND HOUSING

CHICKENS are the main source of some dinner table essentials such as eggs and meat. To meet the large demand of products, most chicken farms breed their chickens indoors in wire cages or similar conditions to properly manage the layers or broilers.

Another animal husbandry method that’s suitable for farms with large areas or even for backyard production is called free range chicken production.

Through this method, chickens are raised in an outdoor setting where the animals can roam freely.

CPV Natural Farm, located in Tangub City, Misamis Occidental practices this method and according to its proprietor, Bhal Abad Cabrera, it has many benefits such as practicality and inclination to natural farming practices.

“Going back to the basics by raising chickens in free range conditions can save you a lot of money because you don’t have to spend any on feeds or constructing cages or poultry houses like commercial breeders do,” Cabrera said during a webinar posted on social media by Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) Northern Mindanao.

Moreover, free range chicken production doesn’t require a large capital for one to start, but it can earn a significant amount of profit.

BREEDS BEST FOR FREE RANGE

CPV Natural Farm is a certified learning site accredited by the ATI in Region X. It produces chickens that’s mainly sold for meat. One of the breeds grown on the farm is the red hubbard which, Cabrera explained, is suitable for meat production and the free range method.

Red Hubbards can grow around 1.5 to 1.8 kilograms in weight when fed with commercial feeds for 56 to 60 days. However, in free range conditions, this breed requires minimal supervision and can forage from available natural sources.