KARAMIHAN sa ating mga kasabong ay nagsasabing may advantage ang mga manok na high station o matangkad, at dahil sikat sa atin ang slashers type o long knife fighting, may pagkakataon umano na makaagaw ng unang patama sa first buckle ang mas mahabang paa kapag nagsabayan sa taas.
Ngunit hindi po sang-ayon diyan ang ating kasabong at champion breeder mula Orani, Bataan na si Hermie Pagtalunan, na isang ring overseas Filipino worker.
Aniya, ang sabong ay hindi pahabaan ng paa kundi palaliman ng paa (cutting) o ‘yung may kakayahang pumatay ng kalaban.
“Ito ang never ending discussion regarding sa itsura vs cutting ng manok. Almost every veteran cocker would say that a regular station will beat a high station bird anytime of the day,” ani Hermie, farm owner ng Los Malos Gamefarm at kilala sa entry name na Franzopia sa mga big derby.
May pagkakaiba umano ng klase ng manok ang commercial breeders sa non-commercial breeders o yaong mga hindi nagbebenta ng manok dahil parating lumalaban.
“It is quite obvious that commercial breeder is after the looks of their produce, a high station stag/cock would be very much appealing sa mga would-be-buyers. However, in case of the non-seller breeders, their breeding is based on the performance,” ani Hermie.
Aniya, walang advantage ang high station na manok na mahina ang cutting sa regular station na maganda ang cutting.
“Most of the time disadvantage ang high station in drag fights. I’ve seen this so many times,” ani Hermie.
“I would say i am not a commercial breeder. I don’t breed to sell. I fight what I bred. I never sell my battle crosses. However, there are times na mayroon akong sobrang breeding materials na hindi ko na ma-breed na am forced to sell for farm budget,” dagdag pa niya.
Nagsimula umano siya bilang backyard breeder.
“We started few years ago, on our backyard. Captain kasi ng barko father ko, occassionally ‘yung mga kasama niya sa work nagreregalo, so dumami nang dumami na dumating ang pagkakataon na naging maingay na sila sa kapitbahay kaya we were forced to move. Then we found a place in Orani, Bataan,” ani Hermie.
Pangunahing linyada sa kanyang farm ang ilang imported bloodlines gaya ng George Foster Kelso, Gene Batia Hatches, Gary Gilliam Round-head, Rat Graves Mclean, at ilang off colors (Grey and White).
Ilan sa mga karangalang nakamit niya sa pagsasabong ang 2019 LGBA cocker of the year, 2018 LGBA breeder of the year runner-up, 1st BNTV 8-stag runner-up, frequent Pitmaster finalist, day champion ng April 2019 Pitmaster pre-finals at ilang 5/4/3 cock derby champion.
