He Grows His Chickens For A Special Market
The key to a profitable farming project is often found in creating a niche market for one’s product. Just like Michael “TJ” Gonzalez of Brgy. Concepcion, Baliuag, Bulacan. He has found a lucrative market for chickens that are raised the natural farming way, i.e., without the use of antibiotics, fishmeal and blood meal in the feeds.
About a year ago, he came to know of people who were looking for such poultry meat. They were the relatives of cancer patients as well as parents of autistic children in Metro Manila. Most of the buyers come from exclusive villages who can afford to pay higher prices for special products that they need.
Sensing the opportunity to produce such chickens which he knew nobody was producing then for that special market, he started on April 28, 2007 by just buying 20 chicks of the now increasingly becoming popular Solraya Sunshine chicken of Dr. Rey and Sandy Itchon. He paid a high price of P55 pesos per chick because that was something very new and the supply was very limited.
He raised the chickens by feeding mostly with sweepings from their rice store, corn, palay and some leafy greens available in his barangay. He estimated that the cost of production, including the cost of chicks, was P 130 per head after raising them for two months. By that time the chickens had attained a weight of 1.2 to 1.3 kilos. And he was able to sell the birds at P220 per kilo.
He saw the profit potential of chickens that are raised the natural farming way because the first buyers had asked for more. Word spread among families with cancer patients who also wanted a steady supply of TJ’s chickens. He soon ordered more chicks to raise through his special way. Today, he is ordering 600 to 700 chicks every three weeks so he could meet the requirements of his fast-increasing clientele.
And he has also become more efficient in raising his chickens. Today, he could raise his birds to two kilos in just 50 days. He is fortunate to have known of a commercial feedmill that manufactures feeds without antibiotics, fishmeal and blood meal. The chickens are raised in an enclosure where they have a shed to stay in during the night and in the hotter part of the day. But they also have a space outside where they forage on insects, grass and other vegetation. They are fed only once a day with commercial ration.
TJ raises his batches of chickens in different places. His first batch was raised in a lot near where he lives. He has another batch being raised in another property far from his residence, near the family’s rice paddies. When we visited the place, the chicks were still too small to be released on the range. Once they are big enough to forage on grasses and insects, Michael said he will release the chickens to the ricefields to look for their indigenous feed.
It is an all-in all-out system that he follows. It means that all the birds in one batch have to be marketed first before new stock is introduced. In fact, he has to make the place vacant for about two months to give time for the grass to grow.
TJ says he finds the Sunshine chicken highly suitable for producing his naturally farmed poultry: They are very sturdy, he said, and they are also fast growing. Another important characteristic is that they taste like the native chicken.
One time, he related, his poultry farm was inundated because of continuous heavy rains. The birds were swimming in the water when he rescued them to be placed in a safer place. Fortunateh. there was no mortality. They are really sturdy, he said.
To meet the steady demand of his growing customers, TJ is opening a new location for growing additional birds in Brgy. Matangtubig, also in Baliuag. It is important that his growing places are found in different places to safeguard against possible contamination in case of any disease outbreak.
At this time, he sells some of his dressed chickens to people who resell them to other customers. His price is maintained at P190 per kilo. The resellers, on the other hand, sell them at as much as P280 per kilo.
Michael studied computer science in one of the well known schools in Metro Manila. Being proficient in the use of the computer, he has been able to dig useful information through the internet.
He and his wife run a profitable rice store right in their barangay. He is of course very happy that he also discovered a profitable niche market for chicken sans antibiotics.
