After the over-priced rice crisis came the sugar shortage, then onions, then fish and now we are down to the guessing game – which will go first or disappear first: the chicken or the egg? Local poultry producers are saying that there is still a steady supply of both chickens and eggs, but they come at a stiff price or in seriously reduced sizes. Eggs that used to cost P4.50 now sell at P7.00!
All the shortages we experienced were preceded by difficulty in buying the particular product, which then drove prices higher, which then resulted in hoarding or “stop buying” policies because expensive products are harder to dispose of or comes with so much customer harassment. Then you have an official shortage followed by smuggling. Then, all you ever find in the market are small or under-sized products because the growers want to cash in as fast as they can, or the smugglers buy the smallest choice to load even more in containers!
Yes, there is a steady supply so far for as long as consumers are willing to pay higher prices which cover the high cost of production plus volume profit of producers. But once buyers stop buying or start cutting back on eggs and chickens, or importers import even more, the producers will automatically cut back on production or channel their produce to nearby customers or consumers in order to save on handling and delivery. According to Toto Barcelona of HARBEST, the agricultural supply company, many vegetable and fruit farmers now sell their best choice along the nearest provincial highway where they get better prices than from viajeros or consolidators.
Many poultry and gamefowl producers are now switching to cheaper or lower quality feeds or adding “extenders” to their feeds and strictly regulating the amount of feeds to save money. This sounds logical, but it does not factor in the long-term effect on the breeders and layers whose bodies suffer nutritional depletion over time. The other factor that we miss is the “time” and opportunity we lose, and the momentum required to reboot the production line. We’re talking poultry, not machinery.
I have warned several farm owners not to scrimp or cut back on the inputs because what you give is what you get. As the breeding season started last December, I put everything I knew into getting more eggs from my hens. First up, I used BMeg feeds designed for egg laying. The other farm owners made blends or went to cheaper feeds. Two months later, all their farm boys are regrettably admitting that they are all way behind schedule and collect fewer eggs a day.
Aside from BMeg feeds, I used the different BMeg – San Miguel Animal health products for deworming, bacterial flushing and injectable vitamin mix to boost the over-all health of my birds because that is the necessary preparation for breeding season. Get rid of all parasites and boost health and immunity of your livestock.
Being a mad scientist of sorts, I did further research and gave the old roosters testosterone shots, multivitamins, etc. while all the hens got additional Vitamin E and calcium shots. Then I revived the pre-existing lighting set up where all breeding pens had an additional two hours of artificial lighting everyday, using everybody’s phone as timer-reminders. In addition, we applied a record and inventory of every individual hen, every egg produced, every egg that completed hatching and every egg that was infertile or uncompleted.
This was the only way we will be able to determine if all the inputs and efforts actually resulted in better health, higher egg production, percentage of hatchability, etc. Some friends and observers call all of it excessive or impractical. I argue that we all want to get the best out of what we have, whether it is a car, a job, a relationship, a business or, in this case, valuable livestock whose purpose is to produce the best in quality and number.
That was the goal I set for myself and for my chickens, both gamefowl and layers. Last Saturday, one of my staff in Lipa hitched a ride back to Pasig because he had to bring 12 trays of gamefowl eggs. My mentor who gave him a lift expressed amazement that we had three times the number of eggs collected when he had twice the land area than I had and three times the number of chickens that I have.
Cutting back on the quality of feeds, nutritionals and care is all against the concept of efficiency. You don’t bench the whole team or reduce the number of practice days just because there are fewer play dates. You do your best to maintain your standards and level of excellence. Coincidentally, I realized that I had put together a process or teaching guide that can be helpful to others who are desperate, uninformed or need guidance on how to cope with these challenging times as farmers and backyard livestock producers. That was always my reason for speaking at previous BMeg Fiestahan events, to empower the backyard farmer.
Someone once said, “In order to reach your goal you must have commitment. In order to succeed at it you must have consistency.” Then there is the saying, “If life gives you lemons go make lemonade.”
The REAL problem is excessive importation and smuggling. Other ASEAN countries have protected local farmers by not allowing the importation of meat and poultry that can be produced locally. Let’s all focus on that! Pressure Congress and the Senate to ban importation of poultry and meat products based on a timeline! Stop importation while boosting local production. Companies like BMeg are there to help and they have been doing it for decades. Let’s protect Filipino poultry and piggery farms. Let’s make the Philippines farmer friendly!