By BENJAMIN SARONDO
Vash Lillo is an 18-year-old fancy chicken breeder with a farm in Candelaria, Quezon. He started raising chickens when he was six years old because of the influence of his father and uncles, who raised broiler chickens. Now, he has 200 heads on his 2,000 square-meter farm, which serves as his source of income and supports his education.
READ: Winning his youth: Teenager who discovered chicken breeding at six now supports own education by selling fancy chickens
Lillo suggests that newbies try raising these fancy chicken breeds for starters:
Cochin Ball Bantam
This fluffy, ball-shaped chicken originated in China. They are friendly and calm, making them a perfect pet. Their thick feathers can make you think that they are heavier than they are, but they are not. Since they are a small chicken breed, expect that their chicks and eggs will be small too. In addition, they are not good for an egg layering business since they lay three to four eggs per week.
Silkie Chicken
Silkie chickens are believed to originate in Asia. They can be great pets because of their friendly and calm characteristics, plus their easy-to-handle and cute size. Silkies can live up to seven to nine years, and each year, they can produce 100-120 cream-colored eggs. They can be purchased in different colors, such as buff, white, blue, black, and splash, but all of them have silky, fur-like feathers and crested head feathers.
Polish Chicken
Polish chickens were once considered good egg layers because of their two to four egg production weekly, but now they are mainly kept as ornamental or show breeds. One may distinguish a Polish chicken through their head feathers, which are tidy pom-poms. Polish chickens are also good foragers when allowed to free range on farms.
Modern Game Bantam
Modern Game Bantam chickens originated in Great Britain. They are tall and sleek with hard feathering that comes in a wide range of colors and patterns, making them easy to distinguish. They lay a very small number of eggs, only 40 to 100 per year, which makes them unsuitable as good egg layers, so they are classified as an ornamental breed.
Wyandotte
Compared to other fancy chicken breeds, the Wyandotte are not affectionate but are quiet and reserved, though they are good egg producers. This chicken breed will not start laying eggs until they are 20 weeks old, but after reaching this period, they can produce three to four eggs weekly. The Wyandotte chicken breed is large and fluffy, with a thick coat of feathers that appears to be solid.
Photos by Vash Lillo