Taga ELBI ka ba? Part 2

Here are some more reminiscing about UPLB:

11. Taga-elbi ka kung pagkatapos mong magbakasakalikay Mang Pogs,diretso ka na kay Mr. Midnight
12. Bumibili ka ng blue book sa Coop.
13. Alam mong hindi pwedeng ibato ang Batong Malaki.
14. Nung pinanood mo ang movie ni aga at regine nashot at elbi (samay gaygay gowns) at nagtawag ng taxi si regine enagtawanan kayo ngmga taga-LB at clueless ang iba.
15. Alam mo kung nasaan ang White House.
16. May tanline ka ng tsinelas.
17. Alam mong mas masarap ang pancit canton na niluto sa 'heater cup'
18. Sanay ka maglakad.
19. Thursday night ang gimik night mo.
20. Alam mo na ang pinakamalaking banyo ay ang Ellen'sFried Chicken,at Sizzler's ang tinitingalang kainan.

Chicken Coops: Where to Stay

My work in Indonesia has brought me to several places where I require to spend the night. There are good ones and then there are bad ones. I like to call these places chicken coops because they provide you with a place to stay and relax. Below is a list of "coops" that I have stayed in and have considered it my second home:

1. SURABAYA: HOTEL SOMERSET: Hotel Somerset is a good place to stay whenever you find yourself in Surabaya. Its clean and the rooms are spacious. The hotel personnel are friendly and courteous and they speak a little English. The front office personnel understand and speak good English, making the hotel very tourist friendly. Free breakfast is included in your rate and the food is average. There's a bar at the lobby with nightly singers and 2 billiard tables if you want tot unwind. Rate for a de luxe room is about IDR 470,000.00 nett/night. I will advise you to let a travel agency book for you because they get discounts (around 390,000 IDR). The only problem is that the Hotel is too far from the center of the city. (If you want to go to a mall and to Starbucks, taxi fare will be around IDR 20,000 to 25,000 one way)

2. PURWOKERTO: HOTEL WISATA: Hotel Wisata is a good enough place to stay if you just want to sleep and rest. The staff are friendly and accommodating, they serve breakfast for only 15,000 rupiahs. Rates are really cheap ranging from 126,000 rupiahs to 400,000 rupiahs. Rooms are clean and spacious and the towels are replaced everyday.

3. JOGYAKARTA: HOTEL MELIA: This hotel is very near Malioboro and is easily accessible. The hotel is really nice and they have a restaurant and several function rooms. The food is good but if your on a tight budget, better scoot down to Mall Malioboro, which is quite near the hotel. If you fancy to buy some souvenirs, walk down Malioboro Lane where you can buy cheap Jogya t shirts and not so cheap batik wear. Malioboro is like Quiapo without the smell and the snatchers. Rate for this hotel is about 600,000 rupiahs up. I am not really sure because I haven't stayed there yet.

More chicken coops next time......

Bridging the (Technical) Gap

Learning Bahasa Indonesia is very important when dealing with poultry owners and their staff. Why? Because if you don't speak the language, its probably 100% sure that you won't get things done the way you want it to. So to help you in expressing yourself to these people, here are some words I found useful to use whenever I am giving instructions in the farm:

1. tirai/layar - curtains
2. jantung - heart
3. hati- hati - liver
4. paru-paru - lungs
5. kapalan - foot pad erosions
6. pelebaran - expansion
7. pamanas - heater
8. suhu - temperature
9. nyaman - comfortable
10. program pengobatan - medication program
11. gumboro - known to us as "IBD"
12. ngorok - rales
13. cekrek - snicking

These are just some words I find useful in the farm. More technical terms as soon as I learn them.

Chicken Politics: The Pecking Order

Most of the time, I always steer clear of office politics. I just cannot stand the constant bickering and the gossiping of who did what to who and other whodunnits. I think it is counter productive. But, I have learned that if you want to stay alive and strong in a company, you have to play the game. Establishing your rank in the pecking order is almost as important as to performing your job well. You have to know whose "vent" you have to kiss to ensure your livability in the "coop". Of course, there is always the head "rooster", the "top dog" so to speak, who knows somebody who knows somebody way up in the order. The "rooster" is like god in the coop. He gets his way even if every thinks he is wrong. He gives blessings and punishments to those worthy of his grace. Sometimes, the head rooster will have a challenger. Most often, this challenger is a newcomer in the coop and has not yet established his rank in the pecking order. The head rooster, of course have several "alipores", who will report to him the activities of the challenger. If the challenger is a threat, then the head rooster and his minions will find ways to destroy the challenger in any means possible. If not considered a threat, then the challenger will be left alone, albeit be encourage to join the head rooster's gang.

Office politics is very like the nature of chickens. For chickens to survive, they have to learn where they are in the pecking order. We usually segregate the small birds from the big birds because the small birds will definitely have a harder time to grow in a pen that is dominated by bigger and stronger birds. Is this also the way office politics should be? Separating the weak from the strong to ensure their long term survival?

Frankly, I do not know how to answer this question. It is just a good thing that sometimes my vent gets kissed, and other times, I have to kiss someone's vent. No problem with me as long as that vent doesn't stink!

Duck Tales

Duck meat, locally known as "bebek", is an Indonesian delicacy that is famous in some parts of this country. Usually cooked as "sate bebek" or "sop bebek", it catches the tastiness and rather unique flavor of duck. In the Philippines, we have our own version of this delicacy known as "itik", which is usually cooked as "kinulob". "Kinulob na itik" is a meal that made my hometown of Los Banos famous.

My sojourn in Indonesia has introduced me to this "bebek" delicacy. I find that "sate bebek" is really good especially if the sauce is tasty enough. The "sop bebek" which I have tried in Serang in West Java, is not really my thing. This dish was served to me in Jawa Barat and I noticed that the duck meat still has some feathers clinging to it. Must be part of the chef's secret recipe. But over all I found the taste of the "sop" very satisfying. If it were not for the feathers, I would have definitely enjoyed it more.

Whether it's sate or sop or kulob, duck meat is definitely a must try for any food aficionado.

A Good Start

I have always told my " mitras" that brooding is probably the most important part of making your broiler operations a success. Here are some of my thoughts:

1. Day old chicks (DOCs), if not given proper brooding care during the first week, will most likely have a respiratory problem after the 2nd ND vaccination.

2. If chicks get cold during the first week, it's pretty sure that you will have a lot of small birds after the 2nd week.

3. Poor heater management will result in malabsorption syndrome. This will make your chicks unable to absorb properly the nutrients from the feed, causing "helicopter wings"

4. Ventilation should always be considered as an important part in the development of the chick. Chicks need fresh air too.

5. The immune system's development starts at the first week. If brooding management is not good, then the immune system will not develop properly eventually failing even with little stress.

6. Litter material, if kept dry, will definitely help bird growth.

7. Temperature should not always be the criteria for evaluating "bird comfort".

8. Bird reaction and condition should always be the first step in evaluating brooding management.

9. If the first week body weight is lower than standard, then growth rate is already compromised.

10. Culling small birds during the first week is a good management practice. Why? Because the small birds are usually the first ones to get sick and will always eat a lot of feeds adding points to your FCR.

These are just a few generalizations that I have made during my years as a poultry specialist. But everybody should realize that without a good start, there is no good finish. So let us give our DOCs the best start by providing the best brooding management.

Taga ELBI ka ba?

Just received an email from a friend of mine in the Philippines. Being a graduate of UPLB, I enjoyed and immediately connected to his email which I have posted below. So to other fellow Peyoopsians or Elbiers, whatever we call ourselves, enjoy the post and reminisce about the good old Elbi days.

Taga-UPLB ka kung...
1. Kilala mo si Mang Pogs.
2. Nalilito ka kung saan nakalagay ang banga niMariang Banga.
3. Tubig na lang ang tingin mo sa gin.
4. Ginamit mong reviewer ang mga old exams para sa mgamidterms, prefiat finals sa math, stat, chem, physics, eco etc.
5. Hindi ka sumasagot ng UP (yupeee) kapag tinanong kakung saan kagraduate.hahaha! sagot mo elbi.
6. Taga-elbi ka kapag kilala mo yung professor nanagbi-bike ngnaka-barong na kupas. (Si climax! kalahating alberteinstein,kalhating mang pandoy)
7. Ok lang pumasok sa mga klase kahit naka pambahay/pantulog attireka.
8. Pag nagtanong si manong driver ng "may animal badyan?", at maysumagot ng "meron po" ay di ka natawa.
9. Pag nagtanong uli si manong driver ng "may mens badyan?", at maysumagot uli ng "meron po" ay di ka natawa.
10. Di ka nahihiyang magbitbit ng malaking payong.

Are you from UPLB?
More next time.......