Made-to-Order Fighting Cocks

Originally hailing from Southern Luzon, game fowl breeder Robert Paulino moved his game farm to Negros Occidental only three years ago, to the land that was once legendary for game fowls. And since then, Robert has been making a name for himself as one of the rising breeders in the industry today.

Two years into his breeding, Robert's battle crosses fought for honor and glory at the pit. Under the care of Robert and his main man Jose "Joe" Montinola, Robert's five cocks all scored wins in the 5-Cock Bacolod Mayor's League Derby held at the Negros Coliseum in 2003. They were co-champions with four other winners from among 200 entries. Robert's entry also ran away with three wins in the Dodo Garcia 3-Cock Derby. Another set of birds also put up a good fight at the Integrated Bar of the Philippines 5-cock Derby at the Guanzon Coliseum in Bacolod City, where they got four wins and a draw to land them in the runner-up spot. And early last year, Robert's battle cocks were run-away winners in the 4-cock championship of the Walang Iwanan Derby held at the Roligon in Manila, along with another winner.

Robert breeds his prized fighters in his show area in Brgy. Mansilingan, Bacolod City and moves them up to Sitio Harab, Brgy. Ilijan, Bago City, when they are ready to be ranged and eventually hardened. When the birds are ready for conditioning, they are then moved back to Mansilingan. The property in Harab sits on a rolling part of the 150-hectare sprawling land owned by the Benedicto family of southern Negros. Robert is married to the late Roberto S. Benedicto's only daughter, Kitchie, hence the name R & K Gamefarm. The place is simply magnificent, where standing by the rest house that Robert has built allows one to have 360-degree view of the surrounding forested mountains, highways, and other farms. He has planted fruit trees and pine trees around the place, to make it not just a farm, but a haven of relaxation for him and his family. R & K Gamefarm is on top of an elevation of about 1,500 feet above sea level-the altitude being very suitable in building up the birds' stamina. At the same time, there is clean, running, free water that never runs dry.

He breeds Roundheads crossed with Sweaters and Hatches for he says that this combination produces birds that are intelligent, defensive, and hard-hitting, but are not very aggressive. So far, Robert admits that they were already able to achieve the aesthetics of their model battle cross, but they still have to work at keeping the fighting style consistent.

But with all his success in the cockpit, Robert really wanted to pursue breeding not just as a hobby but a profitable business. And with the economic distress that our country is facing, the gamefowl industry is also inevitably affected. So he has come up with a marketing scheme for his game birds, which may take some time, but will only ensure rewards. In his first year, R & K Gamefarm was able to put out 400 birds, and nearly double the following. However, Robert realized that a big number is not at all feasible at this time. They still continue to have buyers, but in reality, there are no longer crowds drawing in the buck.

Generally, a breeder would join derbies for exposure, so that if their birds performed well, they will not only gain recognition but it also as a marketing venue for the birds back at the farm that they are selling. This, of course, follows that the breeders already have stocks awaiting their buyers. However, if times are hard and budgets are constrained, buyers have little leeway in their purchasing power. Such that, the chickens that don't sell become liabilities for the breeders, because being livestock, they have to continue feeding and maintain the farm operations. So Robert found a way to go around the situation. They are going to reduce production to ensure quality and bring down costs. At the same time, this new batch of birds is to become Robert's showcase in derbies.

If buyers would like the same kind of bird that they saw on the pit, Robert says that they will have to wait for a year because they will have to produce the same kind of bird in the following breeding season. It is sort of producing made-to-order battle crosses. Of course, this follows that strict recording be implemented in the farm, so that they will know the exact combination of the birds that were ordered. This has great benefits for the breeder who, in these tough times, has to tighten his belt to keep the farm going.

It's a different strategy that has its merits, but the industry will soon find out how this is going to work. And if it does work, then Robert has surely revolutionized his breeding into a very good business.