09/04/2024
Iconic Breed!
Mindanao's 'Parawakan':
True Free-Range Chicken
Long before the Spaniards brought in European breed chickens and the Americans shared their famous backyard poultry lines, the Muslims of Mindanao have already been breeding a sturdy line of chicken they use for naked heel fighting and for food.
They are locally called "Parawakans," a name derived from the sport with which they are associated which is naked heel fighting which ends in the death of either of the roosters.
"Parawakans" are also known as "Jolo" when they come from the islands of Sulu or "Basilan" when they come from the island of the same name.
The "Parawakans" actually are progenies of the huge Asils brought in by Islamic missionaries who entered the Philippines through the South in the 1400s to spread Islam.
The Asils either came from Pakistan, India and the Middle East where the original name is "Aseel" meaning pure.
The "Parawakans" grow to a weight of 5 to 6 kilos at two years old and are resilient and almost immune to local poultry diseases.
The meat of the "Parawakans" are tasty and tender up to age 10 months. After that, they are tough.
While the hens are good mothers, they are poor egg layers and this explains why the "Parawakans" could not be produced in commercial quantity.
Crossed to the iconic American lines like the Rhode island, New Hampshire, Plymouth Barred Rock, and the Black Australorp, the "Parawakans" produce offsprings which are ideal for the meat market.
They are early maturing and robust and at 3 months old they could weigh as much as one kilo.
In my farm in Kidapawan City, I have started a program which aims to perpetuate the "Parawakans" and I started this by selecting the best breeding materials I acquired from my Muslim friends in Central Mindanao.
My aim is to improve the "Parawakans" further by making sure that I breed the best roosters to the best hens.
A few years from now, I could confidently claim that Braveheart Farms has the best "Parawakans" you could find in the Southern Philippines.
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