Perhaps every Filipino practically has an avid sabungero on his Facebook friends list. Whether within your social circle or family, it’s really not that surprising how you know someone who is into cockfighting as most Pinoys are witness to the enduring culture of sabong in the country– legal or otherwise. From the many cable channels devoted to cockfighting on local TV to the countless high-prized championships that are staged annually in the country, there’s no denying that we are a people who are very much into two chickens battling everything out on the rueda.
FUN FACT: Did you know that the annual Philippine Pitmasters Cup is one of the biggest and most prestigious cockfighitng events in the world? With a rueda that’s annually assembled in a luxury resort and casino’s 1,500-seater theater and a cock housing unit that’s fully air conditioned, gamefowl breeders who hail from both local shores and abroad vie for a slice of the usually eight-figure prize. Given all these, there’s no wonder why many are still on the lookout for more modern sabong tips both off and online to keep up with the ever-rising level of competition in the country.
To make things easier for the avid sabungero, we’ve curated a list of useful tips that can turn your fighting stags into champions in no time.
Sabong tips on conditioning
No serious breeder wants sickly or malnourished birds that’s why it all starts with picking out the best gamefowl breeds. It’s really too risky to take the Rocky-type approach in cokfighting so taking in a lesser quality gamefowl and then doing your best to train it so it can be a champion is absolutely not recommended. You wouldn’t really want to exert all that time, effort and money caring for frail birds that’ll figuratively turn into ‘chickens’ when inside the rueda.
Of course, it will also greatly help if you give them proper housing using some durable materials such as the ones sold by Philippine Ranging Nets. Protecting your gamefowls both internally and externally is always essential to keep them growing safe and healthy.
Another part of the basics when conditioning your stags is having them immunized from common diseases like Newcastle Virus or Marek’s Disease so look for local stores that have a good inoculation program in your area. Vaccinating your birds while they are still chicks is an important factor in getting your gamefowls in tip-top shape prior to subjecting them to any sparring sessions as some birds may even die after they grow to 18 months due to poor health and lack of proper vaccines in their systems. Vaccines protect them from parasites and bacteria that can render your gamefowls unhealthy and feeble in their later years.
Once you get them vaccinated properly, choose the right quality feeds from your local poultry store, preferably those with super conditioning grain mix which goes well with some water soluble vitamins for an optimum health boost. Add some supplemental vitamin B and iron injections every 30 days and you’ll have yourself well-conditioned stags that are ready for any main event.
Pointing
As mentioned previously conditioning approaches may depend on what breeds you have on your backyard. Do some further research and you’ll realize that younger battle stags require different cockfighting conditioning products and supplements from what the more mature battle cocks need. Knowing the difference is important if you want to get mentally and physically fit champions out of them. Now, aside from proper conditioning, there’s also this thing called ‘pointing’.
Like our favorite boxers, fighting cocks also have some pre-fight rituals they usually do before setting foot on the ring. Most sabungeros resort to pointing to get their gamefowls in the best shape possible before a fight. This involves delousing your fighting cock with zero mite shampoo five days prior to the fight, drying them without getting them too much afternoon sun, and deworming them regularly during lunchtime.
As in video games, think of pointing as adding armor and mental upgrades for your gamefowls so they can get ready for the big boss round. Monitoring what they drink and eat particularly a day and a half before the fight is important. Using carbs to augment their muscle mass and keep their weights in check and reinforce their diets with natural vitamin B-12, B-complex plus water soluble vitamins and electrolytes are certainly better than opting to go with commercially available steroids. Take the experts’ word for it, these elixirs can certainly do more harm than good to your gamefowls.
Brooding preparations
No sabong tips list is complete without a primer on preconditioning your broodstock. Make sure your birds are well-protected against the many common viruses out there before even thinking of breeding them. Deworming them for no less than a week before you set them up in the brooder and bathing them with zero mite shampoo usually do the trick, but to make sure you get the job done properly, shave off each chicken’s butt area so that they are both clean and you can ensure a higher chance for successful breeding.
Other essentials prior to placing your chickens in the brooder include doing a bacteria flush for your stag three days prior, and giving them their daily dose of electrolytes, vitamins and minerals such as B Complex with Iron, and Vitamin E. Most poultry raisers feed the chickens breeder pellets and Derby conditioner with a 2:1 ratio during priming. Feed them separately twice a day with no more than 35 grams and make sure they have their daily dose of electrolytes, multivitamins and minerals in their water. Another thing that could help your chickens is by giving them anti-stress tablets every other day and by injecting your stag with 0.5cc iron supplement every 15 days.
Sabong tips to make your stags mature faster
In the Italian film Malena, one scene showed a dad introducing his son to a lady of the night in the hopes to make the latter more mature. That scene is very much like how you would want to condition your battle stags. Conditioning your battle stags requires more care as they are more easily injured than your fighting cocks. What you’d want is to introduce them to the world of hens when they are three to four months of age and are still digesting Stag Developers into their systems. This fast tracks their maturity by calming them down and encouraging them to roost in flypens when they reach five months. Secure your ranging area and coops with quality nets like the ones from Philippine Ranging Nets and build roosts at four feet apart. Keep the hens close to the stags every other week while placing the stags in a scratch box an hour a day during the other weeks. This makes them cockier as they grow older so you’ll have to cord them but with ample free range to roam.
Lastly, feed them dry grains in the morning and wet ones at night to monitor their moisture content and properly encourage them to do some scratching exercises. When you finally reach the pointing stage, load them up with carbs to give them more energy.
Have poultry supply needs or more sabong tips? Know more about Philippine Ranging Nets and their line of quality Filipno-made products by sending them an email at [email protected] or call +63977 007 0228.
Philippine Ranging Nets provide Filipino-made multi-purpose nets mainly used for free ranging chickens and other poultry. Trusted by top-breeders, PRN’s top quality affordable ranging nets are available nationwide.
