Free-range chicken, anyone?

Tall and dusky Arestina Morados-Papillon had very modest expectations when she and her French husband, Gerard Papillon, were toying with the idea of venturing into the production of free-range chicken in Tina’s hometown in Pidigan, Abra in 1999.

Today, the 3.2-hectare Pamora farm is a thriving free-range chicken business raising SASSO chickens procured from A.P. Inocencio Farms, the exclusive distributor of the breed. SASSO (Selection Avicole de la Sarthe et du Sud-Quest) is a breeding company based in France that specializes in the breeding of quality colored chickens.

"Gerard is already familiar with raising free-range chicken since he grew up in a farm south of France. We both attended a seminar given by Inocencio Farms since I didn’t know a thing about raising free-range chicken while Gerard was already established in the construction business and had to take refresher lessons. Soon, we started developing the farm and making improvements," recalled Papillon.

Improvements include a farm house and warehouse, power house, water retention pond, compost pit, vegetable garden and terraces planted with mango trees. In the works are a greenhouse, nursery and forested areas to provide shade and natural feeds for the chickens.

Papillon said the SASSO breed was their choice because it is of better quality and better-tasting than the white chicken grown by big poultry integrators. She said Sasso chickens are fed mostly with protein-packed soya instead of animal-based protein sources such as recycled meat products and fishmeal. The use of antibiotics to guard against diseases is a last resort.

"We rely heavily on herbal medicine to protect our chickens for diseases. All the shrubs, brushes and grass that we grow have medicinal qualities intended to guard against diseases. We grow ipil-ipil which we use for deworming, damong Maria for malaria and common anti-bacterial vegetables such as garlic, onion and ginger are used. We plant all of these in our farm," said Papillon.

Papilllon said free-range chickens are called such because they are left to freely graze in wide and usually grassy open spaces. This helps in letting them grow firmer lean flesh that is tastier than white chicken.

Unlike white chicken which can grow in just 45 days, it takes longer to raise , free-range chicken since it takes two-and-a- half to three months before these are ready for dressing and distribution. By that time a broiler reaches about two kilos compared to the average weight of 1.5 kilos of white chicken. And free-range chicken is definitely pricier at about P190 to P250 per kilo.

"Free-range chickens are more expensive but the quality is better. The chicken meat tastes like native chicken, but the flesh is more tender and there is less fat content," noted Tina.

Pamora Farm’s operations are fully integrated, from production to slaughtering to packaging and distribution to its select outlets such as Santi’s Delicatessen, Terry Selection, Rizal Dairy Farm and other outlets in Baguio. Plans are afoot to bring ready-to-cook chicken to Cebu in the Visayas.

Papillon said that from a monthly capacity of 200 broilers in 2002 when commercial production started, this was raised to 1,200 broilers monthly. The farm operates nine ranges of 300/400 broilers each, 450 layers for table eggs in three ranges. Depending on the topography, each range occupies 400-600 square meters.

Aside from distributing ready-to-cook chicken and eggs, Papillon who learned pate-making in her annual travel to France, now also sells preserved chicken liver pate, preserved chicken liver and gizzard pate confit, chicken gizzard pate confit, chicken gizzard adobo, and chicken gizzard.

These days, the Papillon couple is expanding their business and are constructing a "Gite" style farmhouse with lodging facilities.

We already have the endorsement by the Department of Tourism to have our farm included in their list of eco-agri tourism destination. Our vision is for tourists to have a different vacation experience. They can stay in our farm for days and live the farm life. Of course, our primary business would still be raising free-range chicken and eggs," said Papillon.

Papillon noted that there are several Filipino and foreign investors who want to join the business that she and Gerard started. She said their interest is in expanding the farm and developing other agricultural products.

"They saw a lot of potential, but we are still in the discussion stage," said Papillon.