Bio-economic model of native chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus Linn.) production system in coconut producing areas of Catanauan, Quezon, Philippines

The study determined the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of native chickens, and the management practices adopted by farmers through a survey. A bio-economic model of a native chicken production system in coconut areas of Catanauan, Quezon, Philippines was developed to identify management options to increase the number of hardened chicks in the area. The study employed a combination of survey, bio-economic modeling, and a field experiment to come up with possible management interventions to improve native chicken production in Catanauan, Quezon. The survey shows that the majority of the native chicken growers are married, with low educational background, with mean household size of 5-8, earned monthly income of P4,000 and below derived mainly from agricultural crops. Less than half of the respondents own and cultivate their farm for crop and animal production. Farmers and family members raise native chickens for food consumption, for market and as a hobby. The majority of farmers depend on the traditional practices in raising native chickens because it is low-input, low-output production. This is aggravated by the inadequate support extended to farmers in terms of improved technology in crop-poultry farming system. A bio-economic model was developed to determine possible management interventions to address problems on high chick mortality. Simulation models for the four sub-sectors the hen, eggs, chicks and economic sub-sectors were carried out using the STELLA version 5.1 and underwent validation and field trial. Three interventions were identified namely: TO (Control). natural incubation + natural brooding + range system of management; TI consisted of natural incubation + artificial brooding + semi- confinement system of management; and T2 comprised of artificial incubation + artificial brooding + semi-confinement system of management. Simulation results revealed that TO and TI showed highly significant differences on the number of hardened chicks, thus, was tested in a field trial, while TO and T2 showed no significant difference and can be disregarded, however, T2 was likewise tested on field for purposes of comparing if model and field results are really comparable. Analysis of Variance for the parameters observed in the field experiment show that significant results (p0.05) exist in terms of hatchability, weight gains, and mortality rate, however, no significant differences were observed in body weight at stocking, age at first lay, and clutch size. Ready source of high quality protein food and additional income can be realized from native chicken integration in coconut areas in Catanauan, Quezon. The model can be used as a true representation of the native chicken production system in coconut areas of Catanauan, Quezon and modeling using computer software like STELLA can be used as a tool in reducing the number of treatments to be tested on field and the costs incurred in actual experimentation.