Native chicken are important components of most agricultural production systems in the rural areas such as the Ilocos region.  Traditionally, these animals are sources of high quality protein food and additional income to small-scale farmers and other rural dwellers.  Native chicken also performs other functions, in support of the cultural, social and economic status of rural farming communities particularly in the warm climate zone (WCZ) (Food and Fertilizer Technology Center (2010). The increasing trend in the demand for native chicken in the Ilocos region can also be attributed to its value as the main ingredient of known Ilocano dishes like the “tinola”. Its popularity increases the visibility of native chicken in market areas. However, there has also been an issue in the legitimacy of the animals sold as native chicken since there is a wide range of variability that can be observed in the population in terms of physical characteristics and production performance. The observed differences are a result of crossbreeding programs particularly the introduction of different genetics groups through the dispersal programs by the government. As such, there is a need for an effort to document these differences and develop a certain genetic groups that would generally perform best in the Ilocos environment. 

A group of native chicken in Pangasinan known as the “Bolinao Chicken” opens an opportunity for a more rapid phenotypic purification and an excellent raw material for genetic improvement. The Bolinao chicken has been observed to have uniformity in physical characteristics. The existence of this population creates a premise of trimming down the process of developing a native chicken group for Ilocos condition to serve as raw materials for multiplication to address the needs of the local establishment serving local dishes using native chicken. The ability of Bolinao chicken to adapt to local environmental conditions and to utilize locally available feed materials that enables them to survive and reproduce even in minimal human intervention can become very appealing for farmers to invest on this local chicken genetic group if purified and improved.

To motivate and encourage small-scale farmers to venture in the production of native chicken and increase their income, there is a need to identify them phenotypically and molecularly and there should be a supporting production management strategy to attain productivity.

• Established phenotypic characteristics of Bolinao chicken and identification of the most predominant for physical purification purposes.

• Established genetic relationship of the Bolinao chicken with other native chicken in the country such as Darag, Zampen, Camarines, and Boholano.


• Developed breeding program anchored on the parameters preferred by the consumers as the standard characteristics.


• Developed model showing the principal factors affecting the productivity of the Bolinao chicken raisers which may serve as the priority concerns in developing extension programs.


• Other outputs including one publication for each study, brochures and other print-ads for Bolinao chicken breeding and a purified Bolinao chicken that breeds true-to-type.