Wednesday, April 9, 2008

An Introduction to Darag


What is Darag?

Darag is a general term used for the Philippine native chicken strain indigenous to and most dominant in Western Visayas. It evolved from the Red Jungle fowl (Gallus gallus bankiva).

The typical plumage for the male, which is locally called Labuyo or Alimbuyog, is the red wings, hackle and black feathers and black tail.

For the female, also called Darag, the plumage is yellowish-brown.

The comb is single, the earlobe is whitish and the shank is gray for both male and female.

Adult male weighs an average of 1.3 kilograms while the female weighs an a average of 1.0kilogram.







Labuyo/ Alimbuyog & Darag


Stages of Development

  1. Mature Darag hens, called breeders, lay the eggs.
  2. Eggs will hatch from 18-21 days.
  3. Chicks go through brooding stage from the first week to the twentieth day.
  4. From 21-45 days, chicks go through the “hardening” stage. During hardening, chicks are prepared for the rugged conditions of the environment, thus, improving the livability of chicks.
  5. “Hardened” chicks are then left to grow in the field.
  6. At age 75-120 days, the chickens are mature and are ready for slaughter.
Benefits
For those who are eager to know what Darag can do for you, here are the benefits:

1. Good source of livelihood and additional income.

The Darag is best known for its unique flavor, taste and texture of meat that is preferred by most consumers. This makes it a commercially lucrative commodity. This distinct taste of the native chicken can be attributed to the presence of free amino acids in their bodies like aspartic acid and glutamic acid.

2.Low maintenance cost and adaptability to free-range management.

These chickens are left in the fields to fend for themselves, leaving minimal inputs of feedand medicine including breeding, treatment and housing management.

3.High resistance to disease compared to commercial breeds.

The natural selection process of native chickens under local environment caused it to develop patterns of behavior that allows them to survive and reproduce even in the most marginal environment and with minimal management intervention.

4.Good source of protein-rich food.

Aside from having chicken meat and eggs always ready in the backyard for consumption, these are also proven to be good sources of protein.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

what is the mortality rate of darag?

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