De Worm Farm introduces Houdan chickens green shell eggs
by Venu Puthankattil, venu@theborneopost.com. Posted on February 7, 2012, Tuesday
DISTINCTIVE: Song is pictured with a Houdan chicken with distinct features such as the crown and feet with five toes. The inset picture shows a plate of green shell eggs (left), normal brown eggs (right) and white Houdan chicken eggs (back).
HEALTHY EGGS: Photo shows Song’s father holding one of the chickens which lay the green shell eggs which are noted for five to 10 times higher levels of 17 different trace elements important for human health.
KUCHING: De Worm Farm Sdn Bhd (De Worm Farm), the operator of a two-acre farm located at Kampung Sg Pinang near here, is bringing Houdan chickens and green shell eggs to the public.
Famous for its free-range chickens, the farm is the first in Malaysia to raise the Houdan chicken, an old breed from France which is named after the town where it was bred and raised in the past for the London and Paris markets.
According to farm manager Song Xiang, “The Houdan chicken is distinctive in that it has five toes on each foot as opposed to many chicken breeds which have only four toes. In addition, it has a multi-dimensional comb, often taking on a butterfly shape or a V-shape.
“It presents a dual purpose food product as it provides both meat and eggs. The meat is delicious and juicy with a natural chicken taste, but various factors such as its nutrition and method of raising it are important factors in determining the quality of the meat.”
This was the case at De Worm Farm – which also has 14 different kinds of fruit trees – where numerous chickens were raised in a free-range method and feed on a diverse palate of natural nutritional sources such as worms, insects and grass.
The orchard method of farming free range chicken was adopted as the droppings of the chicken provided a good source of fertiliser for the fruit trees while the shade of the trees provided a natural playground for the chicken in return, complimenting each other.
Song also pointed out that the slope at the farm was a natural exercise spot for the chickens and hence the meat texture is unsurpassed.
“The chickens are fed with cooked and crushed prawn shell to supplement the protein and calcium needs, in addition to a variety of fruits as well as grains treated by effective microorganisms (EM),” she highlighted.
She said that the EM broke down the complex structure of the grains via natural fermentation and enabled optimal absorption of nutrients.
The fermentation process was said to take four to five days to complete. The EM also played a crucial role in fostering the good health of the fowls and significantly reduced the odor of their excrement as was noted during a media visit to the farm.
This breed of chicken was a niche market and the farm manager expressed confidence that the sale of the chicken would pick up in future as it was currently confined to knowledgeable consumers only.
As the chickens were distinct in their features and made excellent ornamental birds, some might like to keep them as pets and Song said she would be most happy to sell the live birds with the simple yet natural farming method.
The Houdan chicken eggs are white, medium-sized and said to contain three to five times the amount of trace elements such as zinc and selenium as could be found in normal eggs.
Meanwhile, the green shell eggs are self-descript, having a pale green off-white hue and have a deep orange yolks that are eight per cent bigger than those from normal eggs.
Green shell eggs had been said to contain five to 10 times higher levels of 17 different trace elements such as selenium, zinc and chromium and iodine which are important for human health, she said.
Currently the farm is not open to the public as with all other poultry farms. However, interested parties may contact Song by calling 014-6863686.
