Getting the flock out of here - a diary of a crazy chicken man

[ozexpat]

I feel rather strange with all of this. Ye


I just had a Filipino living in Dubai call me asking for 1000 chicks for when he comes home in September. I may, just may, be able to get him the order over a few months.

Its more like an avalanche.

 

[ozexpat]

The province we live in is famous for its chickens but not layers - fighting cocks.

There are farms that produce thousands of those unfortunate birds and ship them all over the country.

As such the shipping side of logistics is well established. Its all done by the airlines and its airport to airport.

I had to acquire a breeders license from the provincial dept of agriculture which was $12.

Then I just present my license (or have an authorized representative do it) at the provincial ag desk at the airport freight section. I pay a fee based on the birds and get a permit to ship.

Then I go to the airline freight counter. The poultry section types up the waybill, seals the 12*12*14 boxes and I pay a fee.

Five boxes with 24 juveniles cost me $5 in permits and $30 in freight costs for a 2 leg journey from Bacolod to Manila and then onto Cagayan De Oro in Mindanao.

The whole process took thirty minutes at the airport.

The boxes are cardboard with airholes and a carry strap and cost about 80 cents. I put an inch of rice husks in the bottom to keep them dry.

Chick boxes are good for 20 chicks and are much shorter and cheaper to send.

The flight my last set of birds took had 78 boxes of mostly roosters on it.

 

[vehve]

The established logistics of your operation certainly save you a lot of effort. You just might have stumbled upon a goldmine here, Oz.

 

[joannefiddler]

Fascinating! I now have a much better mental image of what you have to do. Can't help but wonder what the sounds are like coming from the plane and what the little chicken brains think is going on.

Truly sad that the cock fighting industry is so prevalent. We had a rental house once and when the tenants moved out we discovered they had been holding dog fights in one of the bedrooms. The mess was indescribable and heartbreaking. We humans are meant to be caretakers, not exploiters...but history is ripe with proof that we are too easily swayed.

 

[ozexpat]

The province we live in is famous for its chickens but not layers - fighting cocks.

There are farms that produce thousands of those unfortunate birds and ship them all over the country.

As such the shipping side of logistics is well established. Its all done by the airlines and its airport to airport.

I had to acquire a breeders license from the provincial dept of agriculture which was $12.

Then I just present my license (or have an authorized representative do it) at the provincial ag desk at the airport freight section. I pay a fee based on the birds and get a permit to ship.

Then I go to the airline freight counter. The poultry section types up the waybill, seals the 12*12*14 boxes and I pay a fee.

Five boxes with 24 juveniles cost me $5 in permits and $30 in freight costs for a 2 leg journey from Bacolod to Manila and then onto Cagayan De Oro in Mindanao.

The whole process took thirty minutes at the airport.

The boxes are cardboard with airholes and a carry strap and cost about 80 cents. I put an inch of rice husks in the bottom to keep them dry.

Chick boxes are good for 20 chicks and are much shorter and cheaper to send.

The flight my last set of birds took had 78 boxes of mostly roosters on it.

 

[ozexpat]

Sorry for the double post but my internet is still bad. If we ever really go big I will get satellite internet. Its about 5000 for the equipment and 120 per month for a direct private link to a Korean satellite with a 512kbs connection. Our area is too poor for telecoms to bother upgrading our towers to 3g and the nearest 2g tower is 1.5miles away with thousands of coconut trees in between.

My wife was telling me that our average 80 per month utility bill is the third highest in the whole municipality including schools and government offices. Only the ice plant and the private high school spend more than us.

Most people live in one or two room houses with one or two 6 watt CFC light bulbs and no refrigerator.

Despite this poverty the country ranks relatively well on the happiness index

 

[ozexpat]

Most of our electric bill is incubator house related. We have a bator with 2 x 150 watt halogen bulbs and three or so 40 watt brooder lights running along with a dehumidifier whirring non stop.

The house has 3 10 watt LED lights on outside all night and a small fridge and freezer. The half horsepower ac and small European style point of use hot water heaters are only plugged in when we are in residence.

The ac is set at 76 and my wife has a thick comforter over her. As I have been here over a month I am getting cold at night.

Our water bill is a joke at 4 to 6 dollars per month.

I spend 12 dollars for a month of internet at 1gb per month for Mrs Oz and myself and 8 per month for 300mb for dominic. Text and calls are another 10 bucks for all we need.

 

[Bens-Hens]

I give it a year and you will have if not plans for a walk in incubator. The incubator house already looks like a solid foundation

 

[ozexpat]

Chicken is $1.30 per pound. Pork around $1.80 to $3.00 and ground beef is $3.50 per pound. Mrs Oz bought fresh sardines this afternoon for 60 cents a pound.

Most basic veggies - beans potatoes carrots squash and onions are between 10 and 40 cents a pound.

Mangoes are between 15 cents and 80 cents a pound depending on type and season. Bananas are 10 - 15 cents a pound.

 

[vehve]

Chicken is $1.30 per pound. Pork around $1.80 to $3.00 and ground beef is $3.50 per pound. Mrs Oz bought fresh sardines this afternoon for 60 cents a pound.

Most basic veggies - beans potatoes carrots squash and onions are between 10 and 40 cents a pound.

Mangoes are between 15 cents and 80 cents a pound depending on type and season. Bananas are 10 - 15 cents a pound.

Expensive to the locals, dirt cheap to foreigners.