RB Sugbo GT: A commitment
“Measured against the eternity, our time on earth is just a blink of an eye. But the consequence of it will last forever. The deeds of this life are destiny of the next” --- Rick Warren in his book the Purpose Driven Life.
The above quotation is in dedication to a friend who passed away a few years ago. Ernesto “Erning”Panuncillo. To us, who had known him well, he was more than just a dedicated sabungero. Ever helpful to anybody who needed his expertise; he was extremely honest; and selfless, almost to a fault, he was indeed an epitome of a Filipino cocker.
We called each other “Sanga”(partner in Cebuano).We were more than just cocking buddies. We were life-long friends— like brothers indeed.
He was always helping me in my cocking ventures. When I decided to go full blast with breeding some years back, he helped me sourced out top breeding materials.
It was because of him that I was able to acquire the patriarch of all the RB Sugbo ponkan lines -- my favorite brood cock “Ponkan,” an EDL/Excellence sweater, who at the time was otherwise,definitely not for sale in the hands of his brother Arthur, proprietor of the cockers and agrivet product distribution chain,Pacific Barato.
Most of all, he was the one who first mentioned my name to publisher Manny Berbano. It led to my writing for Pit Games and Llammado magazines, an opportunity I cherished most.
Because of my knowing Manny I was able to acquire more top-quality imported and local materials; and, met in person, distinguished breeders, and legends of our time. And, because of Pit Games and Llammado, I gained new friends and customers from as far as the Ilocos regions in the north, and Basilan in the south, not to mention the many others outside the country. These things, I owed to Sanga.
Erning was also instrumental to the mission-vision of RB Sugbo chicken venture. Sanga had repeatedly told me: “Breed for the common sabungeros, the ordinary cockers and small time breeders who have neither the access nor the means to acquire expensive fowl. And, don’t just sell them chickens, also afford them technology.”
His idea was that we will not just breed and sell fowl but also take active part in technology transfer, thus the name RB Sugbo Gamefowl Technology.
On our part, with right technology, we could produce more good chickens at much lower cost. Therefore,we could priced our fowl at a level affordable to the common sabungeros.
Now, RB Sugbo Gamefowl Technology is committed to helping the common sabungeros.
RB Sugbo breeds quality fowl affordable to the common sabungero. It is also engaged in the transfer of gamefowl technology, for as economically as possible. RB Sugbo GT has been doing this since 2003 . RB Sugbo is constantly into research on the different aspects of cockfighting such as selection, handling, conditioning, pointing, and effective knife designs.
Since 2007, it has been totally committed to helping Masang Nagmamanok (MANA) Inc., a nationwide movement championing the cause of the common sabungeros.
Sugbo bloodlines such as the Ponkans and Sugbo Lemons, priced well within the reach of the common sabungero,are holding their own against respectable opposition.
RB Sugbo publications are also well circulated among the common sabungeros, mainly through MANA. It also conducts seminars, trainings and at-farm-hands -on and/or on-line technology transfer.
RB Sugbo GT is also technical and marketing consultant to a number of upstart breeders in the Philippines. Founder Rey Bajenting is also founder of MANA, writer in Pit Games and LLammado Magazines, Editor of Dyaryo Larga and founding director of Central Visayas Breeders Association (CVBA).
click link below
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
MANA to Fight for Cockfighting
Mana is Masang Nagmamanok, an organization of common sabungeros all throughout the Philippine Islands.
It was loosely formed a few months ago on a suggestion by a reader of Llamado Tayo, “ The column Llamado Tayo, by Rey Bajenting, is read daily by over a hundred thousand cocking afficionados, mostly in Metro Manila. It is a daily feature of the tabloid “Tumbok” which is owned by the Philippine Daily Inquirer group of publications.
The reader who suggested that readers of the column formed themselves into an orgnization was Boying Santiago, of Camarines Sur,a member of the Bicol Gamefowl Breeders Association (BIGBA).
Members of MANA call each other kamana.
The objectives of MANA are:
1. To provide welfare to the hundreds of thousands of common sabungeros in the Philiipines and workers in the gamefowl industry;
2. To fight for the preservation of sabong as a sport, livelihood, and heritage of the Pilipino culture.
3. To cooperate with other pillars of the gamefowl industry to the benefit of sabong and the sabungeros.
MANA vows to be in the forefront of the fight for the preservation of sabong. Animal rights group now threatened to do in the Philippines what they have done in other countries, most noteworthy, the US, where they succeeded in outlawing the sport.
MANA primeovers are banking on show of force by numbers. The reckon politicians will think twice before passing a law against sabong when they will be face with the possibility of losing too many votes.
“Actually it’s not so much of showing our numbers, as every body knows we are so many, as showing unity,” say Bajenting, more popularly known as RB Sugbo in the Philippine gamefowl community. Bajenting is well read sabong journalist and author. Aside from Tumbok, he is also writing for Pit Games and Llamado magazines.
He is the author of the newly released Manwal ng MANA sa Makabagong Pamamaraan sa Pagpili at Pagkundisyon. A second book is about to be published: The Edge- Secrets Learned from the Masters.
Bajenting is also a gamefowl breeder, consultant and guro. Giving out scores of advices a day to readers of Llamado Tayo through text messaging. He gets more than a hundred messages a day, mostly questions on gamefowl management.
He is consider Mr. MANA, although the organization has directors and coordinators who are running the affairs.—- Gamefowl Research, Information & Training (GRIT) News & Features; Sep 15, 2008
RB Sugbo GT: Magandang mukha ng sabong
Ipinanganak, October 15, 1954, si kamanang Rey ay nagsimulang nagmanok noong 1965, sa murang edad na sampung taon. Ang kanyang ama, Clod Bajenting, isang tanyag na peryodista sa Cebu at ng Manila Chronicle at inang si Manuela Kintanar ay parehong Cebuano.
Sa loob ng mahigit apat na dekada sa sabong, si kamanang Rey ay nagsimula bilang handler at conditioner, Sa dekada 70 at 80 siya’y kabilang sa mga pinakatanyag na handler-conditioner sa Cebu. Ang kinita niya dito ang kanyang pinagsimula ng pamilya.
Sa kabutihang palad at dahil na rin sa kanyang tagumpay sa pagmamanok lahat ng kanyang limang anak ay nakapagtapos sa kolehiyo. Si Duke (pinangalan kay Duke Hulsey, ang sikat na Amerikanong breeder), ang panganay, nakapagtapos na summa cum laude sa kursong Business Administration with Accountancy sa University of the Philippines, Diliman; naging editor-in-chief ng Philippine Collegian, at nag no. 1 sa CPA board examination noong taon 2003. Si Duke rin ang kaunaunahang Pilipino na nakasungkit ng 1st place sa buong mundo sa taunang pasulit ng Certified Internal Auditors (CIA) na ginanap sa Chicago, USA. Siya ngayon ay nagtratrabaho sa isang malaking multi-national consultancy firm.
Si Ace (pinangalan sa ace cock o manok na alas), ang pangalawa, ay nakapagtapos sa kursong Computer Engineering sa University of San Carlos bilang scholar ng DOTC. Siya ngayon ay konektado sa isang malaking Japanese IT company.
Ang tatlong anak na babae, Si Contessa ay graduate sa education sa Normal State University; si Reyna sa Economics sa UP, Diliman; at si Queenie sa Journalism sa University of San Jose Recoletos. Lahat sila ay may kanyakanyang magandang hanapbuhay.
Ang maybahay ni Kamanang Rey, si Elizabeth Maglinte ng Lawaan, Eastern Samar ay may masters degree in Public Administration at kasalukuyang empleyado ng kapitolyo ng Cebu.
Mula 1985 hanggang 1999 pansamantalang iniwan ni kamanang Rey ang aktibong pagsasabong. Sa loob ng panahong iyon, kahit hindi nakapagtapos ng pormal na edukasyon, siya’y naging mamahayag at editor ng ilang peryodiko sa Cebu; public information officer ng Mandaue City; legislative staff chief sa Congress; consultant to the Governor of Cebu; at executive assistant sa Malakanyang.
Taong 2000 nang siyay bumalik full-time sa pagmamanok bilang isang breeder at manunulat sa Pit Games at Llamado magazine, at ngayon, pati na rin sa pahayagang Tumbok, na pinagaari ng Philippine Daily Inquirer group of publications.
Ang pagsulat niya sa Pit Games at Llammado ang tinuturing niyang hagdan upang magawa niya ang gusto niyang gawin alangalang sa sabong. Dito malaki ang kanyang pagpasasalamat kay Manny Berbano.
Taon 2002, binuo niya ang RB Sugbo Gamefowl Technology, na ang pangunahing layunin ay ang tumulong sa mga ordinaryong sabungero. Ito’y bilang ganti sa mga biyayang naibigay ng sabong sa kanya.
Kabilang sa mga serbisyo nito ay ang pagkukundisyon ng manok. technology transfer sa mga client farms, at marketing assistance. Nagpapalahi rin at ipinagbibili ng RB Sugbo ang mga palahi sa mga common sabungero sa abot-kayang halaga. May dalawang linyadang nabuo ang RB Sugbo, ang ponkan at ang blakliz na pinangalan niya hango sa pangalan ng asawang si Liz. Ang production farm ng RB Sugbo ay nasa Lawaan, Eastern Samar. Ito’y pinamamahalaan ng mga bayaw niya na sina Jose, Gerardo Jr, Ruben at Patrocinio Maglinte.
Bukod sa mga ito, ang RB Sugbo ay patuloy na nag sisiyasat, nagsusubok, at nagtutuklas ng mga epektibong pamamaraan sa pagmamanok, upang ipamahagi naman sa mga masang sabungero pamamagitan ng pagsusulat at pagpaseminar.
Dalawang beses dinala ng RB Sugbo ang TJT Cocking Academy sa Cebu. Una noong May 2006. Inulit noong May 2007.
Ang RB Sugbo aktibo rin sa pag-promote ng sabong.
Noong taong 2005, ginanap ng RB Sugbo sa Cebu ang kaunaunahang short knife derby dito sa bansa. One-inch lang ang haba ng tari. May mga sumaling taga ibang bansa. May 2 Amerikano, may Puerto Rican, at may entry na nanggaling sa Malaysia.
Sa 2006, nakipagugnayan ang RB Sugbo sa Cyberfriends, samahan ng mga sabungero na nakabase sa ibat-ibang bansa, na pinamumunuan ng kaibigang si Raul Ebeo, sa pagtanghal ng Cyber Cup global derby. Halos isang daan entries galing sa Cebu, Mindanao, Luzon at maging sa labas ng bansa ang sumali.
Sa paligsahang iyon, sa 20 ka manok na kinundisyon at linaban ng RB Sugbo, 15 ang nanalo, 2 ang tabla at 3 lang ang talo. Isang entry ng RB Sugbo, ang kabilang sa mga nagkampeon (manok ni Lito Garcia ng Manila na kinundisyon ng RB Sugbo).
Masasabi na rin na sa maikling panahon mula nang ito ay matatag, may kasaysayan na ang RB Sugbo hindi lang sa paglalaban, pati na rin sa pagtaguyod sa sabong at kapakanan ng mga sabungero.
Si kamanang Rey ay dati na ring namahagi ng kaalaman at nagpabatid ng mga balita sa pagmamanok pamamagitan ng kanyang pitak at mga artikulo sa Pit Games at Llammado magazine. At ngayon pati na sa pahayagang Tumbok. Dahil arawaraw ang pitak niya sa Tumbok, at ang Tumbok ay tinatangkilik ng daandaang libo, siya ngayon ay binabasa na ng napakaraming masang sabungero. Ito’y katuparan ng kanyang layunin na makatulong, at, tinatanaw nyang malaking utang na loob sa Tumbok.
Ngayon ay maglalabas ang RB Sugbo ng serye ng mga manwal sa ibat-ibang aspeto sa pagmamanok, mga modernong pamamaraan na makatulong sa inyong pagaaral ng larong sabong. Ito ang una, ang “Manwal ng MANA sa Bagong Pamamaraan ng Pagpili at Pagkundisyon.”
Kasama ni kamanang Rey sa pagsulat ng mga babasahin na ilalabas, si Steve del Mar, ang research, information and technology director ng RB Sugbo.
Dating editor ng Kaunlaran magazine ng San Miguel Corp, si kamanang Steve ay co-author ni kamanang Rey sa darating na libro na pinamagatan The Edge: Secrets Learned from the Masters, na ilalathala ng Llamado Publications.
Si kanamang Arturo Mosqueda ang operations manager ng RB Sugbo. At si kamanang Teddy Bajenting ang namamahala sa gamefowl dispersal program.
Samantalang si kamanang Marlon Mabingnay naman ang namamahala sa partner farm ng RB Sugbo, ang JT Northern Star ng Tuguegarao, na may katulad ding layunin ang makatulong sa kapwa sabungero.
“Salamat sa Diyos sa mga magagandang bagay na naibigay ng sabong sa akin, hindi pinansyal na yaman, kung di sa mas mahalagang uri ng yaman,” Wika ni kamanang Rey. Kaya gusto niyang makabayad pamamagitan ng pakikipaglaban para sa sabong at makatulong sa pangangalaga ng kapakanan ng masang sabungero.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Bio-organic Gamefowl Farming
Excerpt from the coming book the Edge by Rey Bajenting & Steve del Mar
Adaptogens, substances that help us adapt to or cope with stress, fatigue and changes in environment, and improve strength, endurance, and power, is actually a link from the past. Most adaptogens are ancient herbs.
Ginseng has been used by Asians since time immemorial. Rhodiola as well. It has been used in Arctic Asia and Europe for millennia. Another is astralagus. While it is relatively unknown in the Western world, it has been in use in China for centuries.
Other old dogs given new collars are pro-biotics and bio-organics, two fields very much applicable to gamefowl.
RB Sugbo GT is also into bioorganic gamefowl farming to produce organic chicken for meat, at the same time, the males, raised in the natural way, can be sold and raised as gamefowl.
Production cost is low that it is economically viable even if all the produce are sold for meat. How much more if some males are sold for fighting?
Natural all the way from mating to harvest.
Mating is by controlled natural selection. A number of full-brothers are corded in a yard full of hens. The hens come from a single bloodline different from the broodcocks. It is controlled because we dictate what bloodlines to cross. And, natural in the sense that the hens choose which broodcock to mate.
Nests are provided. Hatching is by natural incubation. Hens hatch the eggs. After hatching, the hens are placed in brooding houses with the chicks. The hens are kept within the confines of the brooding houses while the chicks are free to get in and out. After some time the chicks will opt to go on their own at the range.
At this point they help themselves to the natural input of the range such as worms and insects, indigenous microorganism, oriental herbal nutrients, fish amino acids and fermented plants and fruits.
These natural inputs constitute 70% of the fowl’s nutrition. Commercial grains represent only 30%. For health care the system relies on pro-biotics rather than anti-biotics.
This system is ideal for farmers who even now are raising organic chickens in their backyards. The difference is that they are native chickens that do not command as high a price as American gamefowl do.
Interesting. With all the modern technology now available, we might yet find ourselves moving forward to the past.
Of Ponkans and Other Sugbos
Written for and published in
Pit games Magazine
Secrets I learned from the Masters
By Rey K. Bajenting
RB Sugbo Gamefowl Technology
After I wrote in Pit Games No. 6 that I breed and sell cocks, queries and orders started to pour in. Some of the queries elicited answers that might turn out useful and informative to fellow cockers. Thus, I decided to share the following with you.
Q. What is the difference between infusion and intervention as you wrote in your article “The Sugbos” in Pit Games No. 6?
A As I understand infusion is adding a new blood to your existing bloodline, and then, slowly breeding the new blood out until only a quarter, an eight or a sixteenth remained. The object is to achieve slight genetic variation that will serve as a shot in the arm to your existing bloodline, without regard whether or not the phenotype of the new blood will manifest. Mostly, you would rather that the new phenotype does not show. Intervention, on the other hand, is a termed I coined to denote the introduction of a certain phenotype that you want manifested in your existing bloodline. For example, in developing my Blakliz, I injected the brown red blood into my sweaters and then I slowly bred out the brown red blood by continuing the in-breeding program of the same sweater blood yet maintaining the brown red plumage. It is sort of an intervening move at some point of your in-breeding program to introduce a certain trait you wanted manifested in your existing bloodline.
Q. What is this bloodline of yours called Ponkans?
A. They are a family of sweaters. I called them ponkans because I called the original sweater brood cock from EDL/Excellence of Doc. Ayong Lorenzo by the name ponkan. I started by mating ponkan with one of the original hens of the trio. Then by repeatedly breeding back to ponkan producing 3/4s. 7/8s and 15/16s of ponkan. In every generation I try to lock the genes by selective brother-sister mating. I hope to proceed with the bro-sister matings to produce sub families of ponkan 3/4s, ponkan 7/8s and ponkan 15/16s which I could, in the future, out breed to one another.
Q. You are breeding the Aguirre greys, what do you like in them?
A. Before I acquire the aguirre greys of Mayor Juancho Aguirre and that of his nephew Mark, I was already observing the performance of these greys. And, in my humble opinion the Aguirre greys are the best greys for the long knife. Perhaps, because Mayor Juancho bred and designed his greys precisely for the long knife. The AGs are smart, excellent cutters, high flyers, much quick for a grey and, game as greys should be.
Q. You sell the sugbos at relatively low prices, does this mean they are not at par with the best?
A. Like the top-quality birds of top breeders, the Sugbos come from splendid bloodlines acquired from the originators themselves or their agents. They are hen-brood and free-ranged, and then long corded. Indeed they are hardened and provided with proper nutrition every step of the way. With all the technology we put unto them, the sugbos have the makings of the best there is. If, however, they could not compare with the birds of the other big name breeders, then it could only be due to my own limitations as a breeder with less experience than the others. We are doing our best, though, to enable the Sugbos to compete as equal in any pit against the best.
Q. You wrote that your birds have to pass a strict selection process in their fighting ability. What fighting traits do you look for in a cock?
A. Since we are fighting in the long knife, I regard cutting ability more than gameness; quickness more than power; timing more than speed; and intelligence more than staying power. And, an ace cock does not have a particular fighting style. It is not a flyer, it is not a grounder, it is not a shuffler, it is not a counter puncher. But when, circumstances demand, it could be any or all of the above.
Q. Do you single mate?
A. Yes, I always do for my inbreds and those that I breed to breed. There should be no doubt as to the pedigree of the fowl you use for breeding.
Q. What about for your battle crosses?
A. For battle crosses we use the yard mating. Of course, with the trap-nest method. For example last season in producing our ponkan crosses, we had four yards, each with six hens. Two lemon guapo hens, 2 lemon 84 hens, and 2 roundhead hens, Then we threw one ponkan brood cock into each of the yards. Since we use trap nests we could mark accurately to the last egg. With the system we could identify not only which bloodlines cross well with the ponkans but also which particular hens crossed well with which particular brood cock. Out of the 24 variations, we had identified 7 super nicks. These nicks will all be repeated this year. There were four total flops. They will be discarded. In addition we have discovered that the ponkans generally blended well with the 84s. So this year we will apply the reciprocal recurrent method between the two lines.
Q. You are developing your own sugbo lines such as the ponkans and the blakliz, how do you go about it?
A. There are so many ways of doing it. For a starter, why don’t you get a copy of Dr. Andew Bunan’s book : Lihim sa Pagbuo ng Sariling Linyada.
The Boy Scout Keep
Boy Scout Keep: Laging Handa
Kamanang Rey Bajenting
RB Sugbo
Gamefowl Technology
Ang boy scout keep ay isang pamamaraan kung saan ang isang manok ay laging handa. Bagay ito sa atin na mga karaniwang sabungero. Mga sabungero na malimit sa hack fights lang lumalaban. Di sila pumupusta ng malaki. SA katunayan di nila alam kung kailan sila magkaroon ng pamusta at nang mailaban ang kanilang mga manok. Kaya kailangan talagang ang manok ay laging handa at puwedeng ilban ano mang oras na kakayanin na nang bulsa.
Ang mayayaman ay laging handa ang mga bulsa kaya wait na lang sila kung kailan handa ang manok. Tayo naman dapat laging handa ang manok at wait tayo kailan handa ang bulsa.
Una sa lahat, pagkatapos maglugon purgahin ang mga manok at paliguan ng anti-mite shampoo. At saka tingnan kung di ba sobrang bigat o payat ang mga manok. Kapag ayos lang, samakatuwid ay handa na sila isabak sa ating Boy Scout Keep.
Dahil common man's keep nga, ito ay matipid sa pera, sa panahon, at sa lugar. Kaya natin itong gawin kahit nag-iisa. Ang kakailanganin lang ay ang cord o talian na hindi aabot sa P20 ang halaga; 3x3 folding wire pen na mabibili sa halagang P200; kulungan na suguro'y gagasta ka ng P100 bawat isa; at maliit na sulok sa iyong bakuran na mai-ilawan kung saan pwede mong pakainin at bahagyang i-exercise ang manok kung gabi. Dahil hindi naman tayo mapera at walang sapat na lugar hindi na tayo gagasta pa para sa conditioning at running pens, flying pen, pointing pen, scratch box, training table at iba pa.
Ang pagkain naman natin ay karaniwang grain concentrate at pigen pellets lang o kaya’y yong GMP ng Sarimanok (Thunderbird). Siguruhin lang na ang pigeon pellets ay may mataas na crude protein contents o mataas ang porsyento ng protina.Kung ang isang kilo nito ay hahaluan natin ng isang kilo ring concentrate magkakaruon na tayo ng pagkain na may 15-16% protein, tulad ng mga pre-mix maintenance feeds na mabibili sa mga agrivet supplies.
Dahil walang siguradong schedule ang laban ng ating manok, dapat ay ito ay isang boy scout, laging handa. Mas mainam na sa kulungan lang ito patulugin sa gabi upang hindi mabasa kung umulan at mahirap pa nakawin. Ilabas ito kina-umagahan mga bandang alas singko ng umaga at ilagay sa talian.
Bandang alas-sais ikahig ito ng dalawa o tatlong minuto. Kung ikaw lang mag-isa at wala kang katulong sa pagkahig doon mo na lang ikahig sa isang manok na nakatali. Yung hindi pa ilalaban o isang reject o baldado na. Pagkatapos ay ilagay mo sa 3x3 na may lamang tuyong dahon ng saging. Bigyan ng iilang pirasong cracked corn at pabayaang mag scratch ng 10 o 15 minuto. Pagkatapos ay ibalik ito sa cord.
Pakainin alas-siyete at huwag kalimutang bigyan ng tubig. Pabayaan lang sa talian hanggang tanghali. Kung ikaw ay may pasok siguruhin na palaging may masisilungan ang manok sakaling uminit o umulan. At ihabilin sa iyong asawa o anak o sino man ang maiiwan sa bahay na tingnan at siguruhin na walang aksidenteng mangyayari sa manok.
Mas mainam kung ikaw ay makakauwi sa tanghali. Pag-uwi mo sa tanghali hilamusan agad ang manok at ilagay sa 3x3 na may tuyong dahon ng saging at bigyan ng kaunting tukain at hayaang kumahig habang ikaw ay nananghalian. Kung ako, doon ako kakain sa harapan mismo ng manok. Hindi lang na mas gaganahan akong kumain pag may manok na nakikita, mapagmamasdan ko pa ng husto ang kondisyon ni tinali. Pagkatapos ay ibalik sa cord at doon na sya buong maghapon.
Pagdating mo sa hapon pakainin agad ang manok. Kung ang uwi mo ay palaging maaga at may araw pa duon nalang pakainin sa cord. Pagkatapos hayaan mo sa talian. Pag itoy humapon na ibalik sa lupa at hayaang humapon uli. Ulit-ulitin ng apat o limang beses ang pagbaba sa gayon ay mapilitan itong lumipad at humapon uli pabalik at ma-ehersisyo ng husto. Pagkatapos hayaan mo nang humapon at magpahinga ng mga 30 minuto o isang oras bago ipasok sa kulungan.
Ganito lang ang gagawin mula Lunes hanggang Biyernes. Tuwing Sabado ipahinga mo na si manok matapos ang pananghalian. Ilagay mo na sa kulungan buong hapon at ilabas mo sandali sa oras ng kanyang pagkain sa hapon. Sa Linggo, ilabas mo ito at ilagay sa cord mga alas-sais ng umaga. Pakainin mo alas-siyete at paglipas ng 30 minuto ibalik sa kulungan. Handa na si manok kung sakaling ilalaban mo mo sa araw na ito. Kung hindi mo ilalaban dahil kulang ang pamusta mo o kaya natalo ka sa ibang manok, isampok o ispar mo itong bandang alas-tres o alas-kwatro ng hapon.
Tandaan lang maigi ang sumusunod:
1. Ang ating normal na pagkain ay parehas ang halo ng concentrate at pellets. Isang sukat bawat isa. Ngunit sa tatlong huling pagkatuka bago ang laban ay gawin mong 1 sukat ng concentrate, kalahating sukat ang pigeon pellets at lagyan mo nang kalahating sukat na cracked corn. Umpisa mo itong ibigay Sabado ng umaga. (Carboloading. May iba ring sistema na hindi na gumagamit ng ganitong pamamaraan sa carboloading. Tingnan sa Manwal)
2. Kung sa tantiya mo ilalaban mo si manok ma-aga-aga sa Linggo, kalahati o 1/3 nalang ng kanyang nakasanayan na dami ang ibigay mo sa Linggo ng umaga.
3. Huwag kalimutang paliguan ito kinabukasan kung ito ay inispar mo sa halip na ilaban.
4. Painumin ng tubig kahit sa araw ng laban. Sa derby may schedule na sinusunod at ang manok ay nasa kulungan lang namamahinga habang naghihintay sa oras ng laban. Dahil dito pwede mong kontrolin ang moisture nito para eksakto ang pointing. Pero sa hack fight hindi mo alam kung kailan mailaban ang iyong manok at maliban pa, kailangan niya ng moisture sa ulutan dahil malamang na mainit at lagi pa itong hinahawakan habang inuulot. May init ang kamay ng tao.
5. Bigyan ng mumurahing multi-vitamins ang manok mo isang tableta bawat Lunes, Miyerkules at Biyernes. At mumurahing B-12 tablet naman yung 100mcg lng , tuwing Martes, Huwebes, at Sabado. Ang mga tabletang ito ay hindi aabot ng piso ang halaga bawat isa.
6. Hilamusin ng kaunti ang mukha ng manok at basain bahagya ang sa puwetan, gilid at paa tuwing umaga, tanghali at sa gabi pagkakain.
7. Tandaan mabuti ang hipo ng manok saan pinakamagaling siyang lumaban pag-inispar. Ang manok na underweight, payat o kaya masyadong tuyo ang katawan karamihan ay mahinang pumalo, walang lakas at wala sa timing. Ang overweight, sobra sa tigas ng katawan o kaya sobra ang basa ng katawan naman ay mabagal kumilos at medyo short ang palo. Ngunit may mga manok na gusto ang medyo payat o medyo mataba kaya ang pinakamaigi pa rin ay sundin ang hustong timpla saan ang manok ay kikilos ng maigi overweight man siya o underweight ng bahagya.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The Legend of the Lemon
In search of a breed, I discovered a legend.
I found the various stories behind the Philippine lemons -- the origin, the history, the future, as well as some myth.
But most of all I have come face to face with the living legends—the remarkable gentlemen that breed them.
From these master breeders, I gained deeper knowledge and wisdom that will guide me as I go about with my journey, as breeder and writer, through the fascinating world of the lemons.
Moreover, from some of them,, I also got beautiful specimen of the lemons to breed and behold.
My thanks to Mayor Juancho Aguirre, Mr. Paeng Araneta, Mr. Lance de la Torre, Mr. Choy Ampil and, Mr Joe Laureño for granting me interviews and lessons in the art of breeding and cocking.
And, to Mr. Mark Aguirre, who since then, has become a friend and partner. As well as to his buddy and fellow breeder Bobot Chua, who had been very helpful in providing me practical insight into the character of the lemons.
Of course, to my friend Glenn Lim and to my cocking partners Steve Sarmago and Raul Ebeo for being with me through the trips and the treks to the cold mountains of Negros.-- REY K. BAJENTING
by Rey K. Bajenting
RB Sugbo Gamefowl Technology
The beginning
Yes, it was the great American cocker Duke Hulsey who, forty years ago, brought to the Philippines the seeds of the tree that was to become the Philippine lemons, but it were the Filipino breeders, mostly from Negros, who nurtured them into what they are now.
In the 60’s the great American breeder Duke Hulsey brought over to the country the lemon hackled red battle fowl he used in competing on behalf of Don Amado Araneta and son Jorge “Nene” Araneta. Most of these battle fowl were of Duke’s butcher-hatch-claret blend. They were the predecessors of the Philippine lemons.
Whether Duke had ever set them into a strain or just produced them as battle crosses was uncertain. Some of those he brought here might even be of different breeds as the late Duke Hulsey had many bloodlines.
No body could tell now with certainty, as nobody seemed to have asked then. What was important at the time was, no matter what they were, the hulseys were efficient killers.
Duke brought these fowl here in the 60’s yet. Those years were then considered a new era in Philippine cockfighting. It was the advent of imported roosters that came in from the United States.
Now, forty years later as the sport experienced a welcome transformation from an ordinary Filipino pastime to a full blown industry, the bloodline is still very much alive and in use by many Philippine breeders and cockers.
Thanks to the many Filipino breeders, mostly in Negros, who loved the bloodline and stuck with it, through the years.
The birth of the lemons
Lance de la Torre told this writer that in the sixties there was a certain Dr. Javelona who was importing and fighting with success the hulsey fowl.
A bit later, whether inspired by the impressive performances of the hulseys fought by Dr. Javelona, or for any other reason, Don Amado Araneta began sponsoring the campaign of Duke Hulsey here in the Philippines.
At that time derbies were not popular. The big timers then fought in hacks, conciertos and mains. Like many of their contemporaries such as Eddie Araneta and the Rivero brothers of Manila, the Plazas and Chiongbians of Mindanao, Amado Garcia of Davao, The Lacsons of Negros, Nyor Dorong Paulin and Cong. Ed Kintanar of Cebu, and others who fought imported chickens, Don Amado and son George Araneta opted to pin their hope on the imported hulseys.
The Duke brought with him here a number of his fowl. A great majority of these fowl were battle crosses. There were his lemon hackles. There were also some birds with white under hackles. He also had varieties called the cecils and even a line called miss u. And, of course, also his greys.
Perhaps the best performers were the lemon hackles as they became the most popular and a by-word in Philippine cocking. These were his butcher-hatch-claret blend, the ancestors of the Philippine lemons.
Again according to Lance de la Torre, it was Freddie Yulo, then a close associate of Amado Araneta, who was responsible for spreading out the hulsey lemon hackles to the breeders in Negros Occidental. Where and when the hulsey lemon hackles were called the lemons for the first time was not clear. It was believed however, that it was around this time that the name was shortened to lemons.
Was Hulsey’s hatch-claret-butcher blend
a strain or a cross?
American breeder Owen Mcguiness was the man who bred for Duke Hulsey the butcher hatch claret blend that was to become the lemons.
For sure the blend started as a cross, as battle fowl. What was not certain was whether or not it was later set into a strain.
Some accounts, including that of Paeng Araneta himself, had them as a strain, others said they remained a cross.
But not all lemons, brought here by Hulsey were of the same butcher hatch claret blend. The lemon 84, for one, was supposed to be of a different bloodline.
The earlier fowl Hulsey brought in, that was in 1964, were mostly straight combs. They were the roots of the batchoy lemons.
The next big batch came in 1967. They were mostly pea combs, like the 84.
It was possible that Hulsey really had strains out of these blends. But at the same time he was also fighting triple crosses of his hatch, claret and butcher; or whatever other blood was contained in his battle fowl. American breeders at the time were fond of the three-way rotational cross method of breeding.
A rotational three-way cross is done by employing three blood lines. Let’s say at first a hatch and a claret were bred to produce a 2-way hatch-claret blend. Then a butcher cock was thrown into the hatch-claret blend to produce a butcher x hatch-claret triple cross. Subsequently a hatch cock was again thrown in to increase the proportion of the hatch blood. The following year, another claret was mated into the cross, then next year a butcher, so forth and so on.
Breeders who desired to maintain this as a cross and not a set-strain took extra care not to resort to inbreeding by using unrelated hatches, clarets and butchers. However, those who desired otherwise could easily do it by resorting, at some point, to brother-sister mating or back to pa, grandpa or other inbreeding combinations.
Possibly, too, the hulsey blend started as a triple cross, and through subsequent in-breeding, ended up a strain.
However, what Mcguiness and Hulsey did to their stock was their own.
Regardless, the fact was that the Negros breeders who first had the hulsey birds, whether they were inbred animals or not, really went to work and employed their own inbreeding methods for purposes of setting their own strains.
Most of these breeders because they only had battle cocks or the male of the specie, used the back-to-father method of line in-breeding.
What the different breeders had then were brood cocks of the hulsey lemon hackle variety, which, might have been not a breed or strain, but battle crosses that were not even closely related to one another.
It was when these birds came in the hands of responsible breeders, the likes; of Freddie Yulo, Nonoy Jalandoni, Paeng Araneta, Batchoy Alunan, Juancho Aguirre, Bob Cuenca, Tony Trebol, Lance dela Torre, the Maravillas and the Ampils, Joe Laureño, and others that the respective lines of lemons were created — different strains of Philippine lemons.
Whether or not Hulsey really got his lemon as a strain is now immaterial. Hulsey had his hulsey lemon, but, definitely we have got ours. Thanks to Filipino breeders who had put in so many years of frustration, inspiration, effort, and dedication, in order to create the various Philippine lemon strains.
The Negros breeders
The brothers Freddie and Mariano Yulo were among these Negros breeders who helped develop the lemon strains. Moreover, they were the ones credited for bringing to Negros most of the Hulsey cocks then in the hands of the Aranetas in Manila.
The brothers who were close to the Aranetas served as the pipeline of many Negros breeders to the hulsey fowl. They also had their own strain, the Hinigaran lemons, Hinigaran, Negros Occidental being their hometown.
Another of these breeders was the late Mayor Nonoy Jalandoni of La Carlota, Negros Occidental. He created his own lemon strains which he fought, popularized, and later shared with the other members of the La Carlota group- Mayor Juancho Aguirre, Bob Cuenca and Tony Trebol. To these days these three remained top lemon breeders.
Mayor Aguirre confided to Pit Games that today, of the three of them Bob Cuenca possessed the purest of the lemons as Cuenca succeeded up to these days, in maintaining his line with no or just little infusion.
This was a confirmation of a claim by Richard Infante, a long time breeding and conditioning assistant to Bob Cuenca.
During an earlier interview with Pit Games Infante said his boss had, for more than 30 years, succeeded in maintaining the hulsey lemon almost in its original state.
At about the same time that the members of the La Carlota Group of Nonoy Jalandoni were breeding their own lemon strains, or even earlier as some accounts had it, Paeng Araneta and Batchoy Alunan also had their lemons.
Then in 1967, Paeng Araneta who already had acquired some of the Alunan lemons, imported a Duke Hulsey lemon hackled pea combed, yellow legged cock. It was rare as most of Duke’s lemon hackles were straight comb. The cock, which was sporting leg band no. 84 became the founder of the historical lemon 84 line.
The coming of the 84s
In 1972 the 84s stunned the cocking world by winning the international, besting a field composed of all-imported line-ups. The popularity of the lemons in general, and the lemon 84s in particular, spread through out the land. Breeders from outside Negros started breeding the lemons.
One from Manila, Peter Uy, has for more than 30 years now maintained different lines of lemons infused with different imported bloods.
Renown cocker Francis Afable, considered an authority on bloodlines,
said that Uy has succeeded in maintaining different lemon 84 lines infused with Billy Ruble blue face, Harry Lee Strouth butcher, Dad Gleezen whitehackle, and some sweaters, yellow legged hatches, and albanys. According to Afable, these blood lines gave the lemons the much needed shot in the arm.
Another Luzon breeder Tiny Meneses vouched for the blending prowess of the lemon and considered it one of the best base lines.
Meneses once wrote in a local magazine:
“ Lemon is one of the best bloodlines there is to produce good battlecrosses. Lemons are also good even when fought pure. Lemons are smart fowl, sometimes they are at their best when they are at their dullest. They simply kill their opponents very quickly without any fuss. Lemons cross very well.”
The lemons and the sweaters
Sources also told this writer that, at present, there are breeders who are breeding the lemons but are hiding the fact from the public. These breeders, for commercial reasons, prefer to advertise their birds as sweaters or other imported breeds.
It is understandable. They want buyers to believe that their birds are American breeds over which they enjoy exclusive rights, and thus, are not easily accessible. Of course, on the contrary, the lemons are readily available in Negros and other parts of the country.
What they might not have realized is that the sweater which was originated by Harold Brown out of yellow-legged macleans might contain the blood of the hulsey lemon or vice versa.
Francis Afable wrote in Pit Games no. 3:
“. . . this popular strain (sweater) started in the United States inside the breeding farm of Harold Brown. He supposedly got a yellow legged mclean cock from Ted Mclean and bred it over a mclean-leiper hen with substantial success in the mating. After blending them the first year, breeding went back to the dad.”
“These ¾ mcleans made history. Some breeders I talked with were saying that the pea combed, yellow legged and lemon hackled Duke Hulsey lemon popular here is the same strain as Harold Brown’s. The late Robbie White was said to have confirmed this before he died.”
According to the distinguished Negros breeders I talked with, the lemon blends with most blood lines because it is a perfect combination of power in the hatch in it, speed in the claret in it, and cutting ability in the butcher in it.
Bob Cuenca crosses the lemon with hatch-claret to increase power and speed. In effect, Bob Cuenca was just adding more hatch-claret blood in proportion to the butcher blood.
Paeng Araneta blends it with the blue face, adding more hatch, to add gameness and also power to his already quick 84s.
Juancho Aguirre has for years been winning in style with his lemon-cecil greys and lately with lemon sweaters and lemon kelsos.
The Ampils have their own lemon-roundheads, lemon-dan grays, lemon-hatch blends. And, of course, Lance de la Torre has his formidable lemon-boston roundhead crosses.
Joe Laureño, has been doing pretty well with his lemon-dink fair crosses.
Truly, indeed, Lance de la Torre summed it up in so few a words when he said: “In Negros you’re not considered a breeder when you don’t breed the lemon.”
The talents of the Negros breeders
It could be the original hulsey lemons were not a breed but battle crosses that might not be even related to one another. Most likely, the Negros breeders who got them were not breeding seed fowls but battle cocks. It could be only because of the talent of some of these breeders that lemon strains were created.
These breeders created strains out of one individual brood cock. So the different lemon strains may not be related to one another as they are mostly products of line breeding to a single hulsey lemon battle cock. These individual cocks might have come from different families of lemon hackled hulsey fowl.
Definitely, the different lemon strains have different genetic composition as each of the breeders of the lemon strains used different bloodlines in the hen side of the original matings from which they started the line breeding back to the cock.
As examples to illustrate this point Pit Games interviewed the originators of the lemon 84, the lemon guapo, and the main man behind the batchoy lemons.
The lemon 84
According to the personal account of Rafael “Paeng” C. Araneta (RCA) he got a pea comb fowl from Duke Hulsey in the mid sixties with leg band number 84. He bred this cock to his earlier hulsey lemon hens out of stock from his friend, the late Batchoy Alunan.
He then mated the female offspring of this mating back to the father to produce three-quarters of the original lemon 84 cock. The males of this generation, Paeng told this writer, just kept on winning and became so popular. These he called the lemon 84s in reference to the leg band number of the original cock.
From hereon, in almost every generation, he applied both the brother sister mating and the breeding back to the father methods. At some point, some green legged fowl were produced. Thus, he was able to create sub-families of green legged lemons, making the lemon 84 as, perhaps, the only lemon strain that formally has a sub-family of green legged fowl.
The 84’s come in both pea comb and straight comb. The straight combs do not look much different from some of the other lemon strains in Negros. And, according to Paeng, the old 84’s fought similar to the other lemons except that they were much quicker.
At the height of the popularity of the lemon 84 many Negros breeders claimed to have the strain when in fact what they got were lemons of other variety. Paeng, however, admitted to having lent 84’s to Mayor Jalandoni and Tony Trebol. Thus, these two top breeders might have really bred the 84’s in addition to the equally formidable lemon lines they already had. It was also possible that from these two gentlemen the lemon 84 bloodline was spread out to their friends and buyers.
Today the lemon 84 bloodline is very much alive not only in the hands of many breeders all over the country, but also in the farm of Paeng Araneta himself.
Better than ever lemon 84.
“My lemon 84 now is better than ever,” Paeng told this writer. “although, so is the competition,” he added.
When asked why, and what’s the difference between the 84 of the old and the present day 84, Mr. Araneta said:
“ The 84’s had always been quicker compared to the other lemons. Now they are even quicker and they pack more power with the infusion of my blue face hatch blood.”
Later, at RCA’s farm, this writer discovered that the present day 84 is also pretty by lemon standard. Lemons have never been known for being beautiful, but the new 84’s are. And, they are quick and agile, with some power to spare.
Yes, Paeng’s “ Better than Ever” lemon 84’s may have a future as much as they have a past.
The lemon guapo
Another strain of lemon that has been around for more than 30 years is the lemon guapo of Mayor Juancho Aguirre.
According to mayor Juancho in the sixties and the 70s Negros was full of so-called lemon lines. There were the 84, the batchoy, the togo, the massa, and the hinigaran, to name a few. The 84 was Paeng’s creation. Batchoy and massa were name of the breeders who originated these lines, while Hinigaran is the place of Freddie Yulo, who had been the Negrenses’ foremost source of hulsey lemon cocks.
At that time most Negros breeders, including the group of Mayor Juancho, did not have the technical knowledge and support that present day breeders enjoy. For them, it was, almost always a hit and miss affair. Thus, they really had a hard time producing good birds, much less maintain their winning lines.
Indeed, it was the reason, mayor Juancho said, that they sponsored the Duke himself to stay in Negros for a while to teach them the rudiments of breeding and fighting.
Because of this lack of scientific knowledge, coupled with the fact that the breeders also failed to assess accurately the value of these lemons, most of these lines either went to extinction or took the back seat.
The 84s and the batchoys are still around. The massa and togo are no longer heard of. The hinigaran has reincarnated as the Guapo line.
Here is the story:
At about the time, Paeng’s 84s were making waves, disaster hit mayor Aguirre’s stock. Avian pest wiped out his flock. Among, the very few survivors were a lemon brood cock and a baby stag that was suffering from a limber neck as result of barely surviving the epidemic.
Discouraged and decided to take a leave from breeding, the mayor gave the brood cock to his brother-in-law Bob Cuenca who had a lot of the same lemon strain- the hinigaran variety.
Mayor Juancho also gave the surviving limber necked hinigaran lemon baby stag to a kumpadre who peddled chickens.
After a year, the mayor casually asked his kumpadre about the limber necked stag. To his surprise, the limber neck was not only fine but indeed was a very beautiful specimen of a cock.
They started calling it guapo. After a while they fought guapo. It won four fights practically unscathed. On its fifth win guapo was badly wounded.
Mayor Juancho, whose interest in breeding had been slowly revived, decided to breed guapo. He bred the erstwhile limber neck to some cecil hens and some hatch hens.
He kept breeding the best pullets back to guapo, at the same time employ some brother-to-sister matings, until he was able to set the strain he called lemon guapo.
“I continued to play around with many inbreeding variations of the guapo line, always keeping in mind absolute quality control,” Mayor Aguirre told this writer.
Eventually the line with the infusion of the cecil blood was discontinued because according to him the cecils tend to produce oversized offspring. (The cecils referred to were not of Cecil Davies bloodline but a line of Duke Hulsey which Duke called as such. They were reds with white under hackles.)
The malatuba family of the guapo
After almost forty years of playing around with the guapo bloodline, suddenly a bunch of the present day guapos came out malatuba or pumpkin in plumage.
These pumpkins are direct decendants to a guapo lemon that had just recently died but not before reaching the age of nine. According to mayor juancho, this particular cock became a hennie or binabaye after its last moult.
He consulted veterinarians on the phenomenon. All they could say was that it could be a result of altered hormone balance as brood cocks were normally pumped with hormones to induce fertility.
How about the bunch of pumpkin guapos? They could not be result of hormone imbalance. They could only be throwbacks.
The pumpkins came out of a likewise pumpkin cock that is son to the old lemon-turned- binabaye brood cock. This pumpkin lemon broodcock could be a case of “throwback beyond the original.”
The original hulsey cocks brought to the country in the sixties were not malatuba. The throw back must be way way back to their earlier predecessors. Perhaps, somewhere along the line long before the hatch-claret-butcher lines were blended by Duke Hulsey, any one or more of the said bloodlines carried some pumpkin genes. I suspect it must have been the clarets.
According to the History of Game Strains (Johnson and Holcomb) in 1927, a Duryea cock which was thrown in to contribute to the development of the claret bloodline, produced many wonderful pumpkin cocks.
This could be the reason why Juancho’s lemon guapo is now producing pumpkin throwbacks. And, their fighting styles? Well, JGA’s pumpkin lemon guapos are the most powerful lemons I’ve seen. And, they still fight like lemons should—smart and quick.
Joe Laureño and the batchoys.
The batchoy lemons were among the first lemon lines that made it to the big time. They were straight combed, lemon hackled low stationed cocks and originated by the late Batchoy Alunan. Unknown to many then, there was one other man behind the success of the batchoys—Joe Laureño, Mr Alunan’s trusted chickenman.
Batchoy Alunan died in 1980. Now 25 years after, the batchoys, in their original state, are very much alive in the farm of Joe Laureño.
Joe had been associated with Batchoy from 1968 to the latter’s death in 1980. As a parting gift from the family, he was made to settle for some fowl instead of cash. From then on, the burden of preserving the batchoy lines fell upon Joe’s shoulder.
According to Joe, he got 2 broodcocks and 13 hens. Out of these, he had managed to reconstruct the batchoy bloodlines.
Joe told Pit games that there were actually three kinds of lemon in the batchoy yards. There was the 84, the left ins and the line that was called the batchoys. Of course there were also other bloodlines such as the equally formidable batchoy greys.
The line called batchoy is low stationed and very barako. This particular batchoys were tough and they fought like hatches. The left ins were beautiful and were the smart ones. The blend of the two lines gave them numerous successes then, along with Francis de Borja and Jesse Cabalza, who were foremost chicken fighters of the time.
The 84s really came from the original 84 cock. The original 84 cock was with Batchoy Alunan for a while and Joe bred it to some of their own lemons.
With just the 2 cocks and 13 hens, Joe did not only manage to restore the batchoys, he was also able to discover blends that made his lemons comparable to the best of the best bloodlines of today.
How did he do it?
Joe did it with the time-honored method of back crossing to the purer parent, and other forms of in-breeding. Of course, he also resorted to the inevitable infusion of new blood at some point. New bloods that were eventually slowly bred out in order to once again purify the lemon blood.
He has fought them crossed with several different bloodlines with same success-- in the bakbakan, in the world slasher, and in many great gathering of great feathered warriors.
As most of us know, Joe is very active in the big times nowadays. He is now among the country’s big boys. Joe and his son Johnny have won the prestigious Balbina Breeders Cup twice already.
The entry JVL is always in the thick of the big fights. Where and when the best chickens of the land see action, Mang Joe and his fowl are there to reckon with.
In his very beautiful farm that this writer visited, there was an array of imported dink fairs sweaters, yellow legged hatches, Roger Robert’s hatchets, mcleans and other hatches. Yes, there were some two thousand beauties on cord. Amid these jewels, still were the batchoy lemons of the old. Not so beautiful, but so precious.
Lance: In Negros you are not a breeder
if you have got no lemons
Inasmuch as you cannot start a story about the lemons without mentioning Paeng Araneta, certainly, you could not end it without reference to Lance de la Torre.
Lance, the big boy who rose from the ranks. The former policeman who resigned from service to pursue a much greater love of his—cockfighting.
He went to Manila to condition, handle and tie the knife on the chickens of prominent cockers.
In due time, he proved his worth.
He found a partner and he was suddenly into breeding, and, became a world slasher champion, the first to score 8 straight wins in the wsc.
Lance’s lemons are of the Nonoy Jalandoni and Nene Velez variety. Not much different from those of Juancho Aguirre and the rest of the La Carlota group. His lemons are probably the most expensive around, but like the Rolls Royce, they are worth every penny, even more.
His lemons blend well with his roundheads, and with most of his other lines. Straight combed, and medium stationed, they come with some shades of malatuba in the breast. They look like the old time lemons but they pack more wallop and are quicker than most. They are really a wonder to behold.
When I was in Lance’s farm, in Talisay, Negros Occ., I was treated to a long sparring session. The lemons were sparred along side his newly acquired bloodlines such as the much sought after Jr. Belt Cowan roundhead, as well as his old reliables such as his boston and his regular roundheads. There were also his hatches and his greys, the lance greys that sold for more than a hundred grand a trio.
Against this formidable array of distinguished bloodlines, Lance’s lemons held their own.
The master breeder in lance has somehow managed to infuse the much needed booster to enable his lemons fight as fit for the modern times.
His lemons are intelligent, quick and powerful. Considering Lance’s obsession with gameness, we can be rest assured too that his lemons are more than fairly game.
Lance, the man who said that: “you are not a breeder if you don’t have the lemon,” also admitted to this writer: “I am not an all out lemon fanatic, I know the limitations of the lemons but I know its blending value too.”
The lemons’ attributes and records
Known for its brainy fighting style, accurate cutting ability and excellent timing, the lemon is, without doubt, one of the great bloodlines in the history of cockfighting.
After forty years of remarkable presence in the Philippine cocking scene, the lemons have definitely passed the test of time, and with flying colors.
Despite the advent of the so-called modern yellow legged and green legged hatches, the super kelsos, the magnum and bonecrusher hatches, the numerous variations of the old time roundheads, and other newly created or revitalized old strains, the lemons are still sought after by top notch breeders who know of the lemons’ value.
The lemons first caught the attention of the international cocking community in 1972. That year the lemon 84s of Paeng Araneta won the international derby. The 84s were the only local breed entered in that grand event.
Another high point of the lemons came in 1997 when Lance de la Torre, in tandem with Patrick Antonio, won solo that year’s edition of the World Slasher Cup II. Lance de la Torre unveiled to the world the might and ring savvy of his lemon-roundhead crosses to score 8 straight victories. It was then an unprecedented feat.
Prior to that no one had ever scored 8 straight wins in the WSC. The record was eventually tied 7 years later by Rudy Salud and Lito Orillaza who copped the 2004 edition of world slasher cup I. Salud and Orillaza showed cocks coming from bloodlines of another Negros stalwart, Danilo Hinlo.
In year 2000, Bob Cuenca, a member of the La Carlota, Negros lemon group, likewise in tandem with Patrick Antonio, won a share of that year’s January edition of the world slasher.
That same year, Peping Ricafort scored a grand slam. He emerged co-champion in both the January and June editions of the world slasher cup. Ricafort later divulged in a magazine interview that he always made it a point that all cocks he bred have drops of the lemon 84 blood which he got directly from the originator Paeng Araneta.
In January 2001, Tony Trebol, another member of the La Carlota lemon group won another WSC title.
These series of major achievements by the lemons were no easy feats considering they came in the wake of perennial challenges from the sweaters of Carol Nesmith, Bruce Barnette, and Dink Fair, the Roger Roberts hatchets; and the birds of Johnny Jumper, Ray Alexander, and those of many other American and local breeders.
Brainy and quick
The lemons are medium to low station. They fight smart, cut well and have excellent timing. They come in plumage from red with lemon hackles to downright lemon like color. They come either in straight or pea combs, but mostly straight combs, except for the 84s which are basically pea combs. More than ninety percent of the lemons come in yellow legs. A few are green legged. Fewer still are white legged. They are not as beautiful as, say, the sweaters, but the lemons have a bearing of the royalty and confidence of a champion. The lemons exude an aura, so to say.
In the pit, they keep their cool under extreme pressure. Under attack, the lemon extricate itself by either gracefully side stepping or topping the opponent. When attacking, the lemon does not resort to fancy shuffles and multiple cutting. It simply hits with fatal single strokes.
The lemon may not look so fast in its movements but, in reality, it is quick to the draw and extremely accurate. There is rhythm to its blows that draws the opponent to its beat, and poetry in its motions that baffles the opponent into lowering its guards.
The lemons are patient and brainy. They are what is called “abang” in Tagalog and “kumpas” in Bisaya. They wait for the opponent to make the first move. They seem to know that, more often than not, the first move is a mistake.
Then the lemons are vertical flyers. When the other cock strikes the lemon goes up vertically to top the opponent, and not diagonally as most cocks do.
This is geometry and physics in action. When two birds go up together in the air vertically, the point of contact is prolonged and gravity more centered that when one of the birds breaks diagonally forward. Thus, breaking vertically, the bird on top will have more time to inflict damage; whereas, in a diagonal flight the inertia of the forward blow will likely prevent the blade from going deeper into the flesh.
On the ground, when evading blows, the lemon side steps or back pedals instead of ducking. And, it counters accurately. According to Mayor Juancho Aguirre, to him the ultimate maneuver of a cock is back pedaling at the same time “nagiiwan ng paa” or counter striking effectively. “The lemon can do it, can do it in style,” he said.
Also the lemons are not bill holders. They strike with their feet not with their beaks. They have this staccato type of blows that seem to always beat the opponent to the draw. In breeding, too, the lemon blends well with almost any other bloodline.
The future
The Philippine lemons have a colorful past, and a solid present. What about the future stored for them?
The lemons should still be around for the years to come. Efforts by our best breeders to preserve the line, improve on them, and correct the weaknesses will guarantee that the lemons are here to stay for several decades more.
The lemon’s main drawbacks are the lack of station and power. Its gameness, according to some is also a suspect. But this has been disputed by others who swore that there are dead game lemons as well.
With the infusion of other bloodlines, and the respective breeders ability to perceive and foresee, these problems have been corrected.
The lemon guapo of mayor Juancho is an example of a new generation lemons. Lance’s lemons are comparable to, if not better than, most of the modern day sweaters, kelsos, and roundheads.
Also, there abound all over the country, new breeders that are out to continue breeding, improving and propagating the lemons.
Morover, the lemons have continued to prove their blending worth. A look at the winning crosses in the big fights nowadays will show the high percentage of fowl with lemon blood. The JVL dink-lemon crosses are example of these winning fowl, as well, as those of Dicky Lim’s and the Julao Bros.
Yes, the great Duke Hulsey brought his lemons to the Philippines, but the Filipino breeders, were the ones who created the lemons of today – The Philippine Lemons.
( This article came out in a regular issue of the Pit Games Magazine, in its Legends of the Pit: The Philippine Lemon by Rey Bajenting; and in a special edition of Pit Games featuring the best of the Legends of the Pit.)
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Price List of the sugbos (big discounts are extended to MANA members)
- Battlecock ----P 7,000
- Battlestag/bullstag ---------------- P 6,000
- Broodcock/stag ----------------- P12,000
- Pair----------------- P 18,000