UTILIZATION OF MALE LAYER CHICKENS (BOVANS WHITE AND ISA BROWN) FOR MEAT PRODUCTION UNDER FREE-RANGED SYSTEM

Abstract

The declining chicken meat production in the Philippines poses a great threat to food security in the country. However, male layer chickens are usually overlooked as an additional source of poultry meat. Hence, the study examined a total of 500 males of two commonly used layer chicken genotypes, ISA Brown (IB) and Bovans White (BWh), for their performance in meat production and profitability to be raised under a free-ranged system. Chickens were randomly distributed to 10 houses with ranging areas. The guidelines set by Philippine National Standards for Free-Ranged Chicken (PNS/BAFS, 2018) were adopted. Growth performance data were collected twice a month. At 90 days, five chickens per house were randomly selected to assess the carcass traits. Overall (d 1 to 85), IB has significantly higher ADG and lower ADFI that resulted in better feed-to-gain than BWh. Breed-dependent differences were also evident in carcass traits. Moreover, both BWh and IB had positive margins over feed cost. In conclusion, IB and BWh can be valuable sources of meat and raising these chickens under a free-ranged system can be a profitable business venture.