The founder of the Quy Chau duck brand

(Baonghean) -With his passion for the Quy duck breed (the breed of duck evaluated by the National Institute of Animal Husbandry as the most delicious in Vietnam today), Mr. Thai Dieu has traveled to every village in the two districts of Quy Chau and Que Phong to collect the remaining eggs from the people to rebuild the once famous duck breed.

Mr. Thai Dieu's duck farm is nestled at the foot of Chau Tien canyon (Chau Tien commune, Quy Chau). On one side is a high mountain, on the other side is Hieu river. Anyone passing by will find the farm's architecture associated with the rocky terrain strange. And there, a once famous duck breed is being cared for, bred and preserved by him. Mr. Thai Dieu (born in 1957) is originally from Lien Thanh, Yen Thanh. After many times bringing his wife to visit his mother's hometown in Que Phong, he was fascinated by the Quy duck breed. This is a traditional specialty duck breed of the Thai people living in the border communes of the two districts of Quy Chau and Que Phong. Then in 1993, he decided to take his wife to Dan village, Tien Phong commune, Que Phong district to start a career in duck farming. More than 8 years have passed, but he has never once regretted his decision.

His ducks are always fully vaccinated.



Quy duck - the most delicious duck in Vietnam today.

Talking about the early days of bringing the duck breed to incubate, Mr. Dieu smiled: At that time, Quy ducks were only raised sporadically in the people, a few in each house were mainly for food, so there were no eggs to buy. The couple had to travel to each village, each house, sometimes even to Laos. But the most they could get was only 10 eggs a day. When they had enough eggs, he started to incubate. The first batch of eggs, although he had many years of experience in incubating eggs while still in Yen Thanh, only a few dozen eggs hatched. After nearly 2 years of perseverance, he had nearly 200 purebred ducks. This was the first batch of parent ducks that he had raised. At the same time, the People's Committee of Que Phong district had a policy to restore the Quy duck breed. The resettlement committee (now the rural and mountainous development committee) of Que Phong district supported Mr. Dieu with 20 million VND to help him invest in expanding the farm and buying an incubator. From here, Mr. Dieu can provide people with better quality duck breeds.

He took us to visit the farm while the workers were vaccinating the ducklings, which were only a few days old. He said: “Although this breed of duck has many times higher resistance than other duck breeds, we still have to vaccinate regularly. This batch of ducks will be ready to be sold for breeding in about 2 weeks.” It is known that each month he sells about 10,000 purebred ducks. In addition to households in the district, many customers living in neighboring districts such as Quy Chau, Quy Hop, Con Cuong, and Tuong Duong also come to him to buy ducklings. Because he said that, at present, he is the only person who can successfully incubate eggs of this famous Quy duck breed.

Mr. Thai Dieu's duck egg incubator.

I have heard about the Quy duck breed but still do not understand why it is considered the most delicious duck breed in Vietnam as assessed by researchers of the National Animal Husbandry Institute. Mr. Dieu smiled and explained: Quy duck is more delicious than other duck breeds because its meat has very little fat, is thick, tough, and firm. Scientists also analyzed that Quy duck meat also contains a higher ratio of glutamic acid (MSG) than other duck breeds. But the local people here explain in their own way. They believe that the food source from moss, crabs, shrimp, on the dew and wind of Phu Quy land is the special "input" to create the traditional delicious taste of this duck breed.

At first it was just a passion, but in the end, thanks to raising Quy ducks, Mr. Thai Dieu is now considered one of the biggest economic people in Que Phong district. From hatching eggs and selling ducklings, his farm earns nearly 700 million VND each year. Proof of his prosperity is that in 2009, he bought a car worth more than 9,000 USD. Not only developing the family economy, Mr. Thai Dieu also helps 4 other households by investing in breeding ducks and food. The family of Mr. Nguyen Dinh Chin (Hamlet 2, Que Son Commune, Que Phong District) is one of the 4 families that Mr. Dieu helped. Initially, his family was supported with 1,000 ducklings and food. After more than 4 years of care, the family's average monthly income is now more than 100 million VND.

In 2008, Mr. Dieu established Dieu Chau Private Enterprise specializing in producing and supplying purebred, high-quality Quy duck breeds. From here, Quy Chau and Que Phong districts have signed many contracts with enterprises to supply Quy duck breeds to households under Program 135. In June 2011, Dieu Chau Private Enterprise signed to participate in the Quy duck production and consumption model under the agricultural competitiveness project. According to the contract, Dieu Chau Enterprise is responsible for supplying duck breeds to more than 100 households in communes in Que Phong district. Up to now, the first batch of ducks has been more than 3 months old and promises to be highly economically effective. It is known that 90% of the model members are ethnic minorities. This is truly a "medicine" that helps many households have the opportunity to develop the economy and increase their family income.

Pham Bang