9X youth returns to hometown to raise Dong Tao chickens

(Baonghean.vn) - Thanh Chuong is famous for its native chicken breed, however, due to unstable selling prices, Mr. Bui Sy Van in block 10, town has invested in raising Dong Tao chickens, which brings in high income.

After finishing high school, Bui Sy Van (born in 1995) in grade 10, Thanh Chuong town, pursued a career in mobile phone repair. He worked as a hired hand and then opened a kiosk, but his income was unstable. More than a year ago, he left the city and mobilized his whole family to rent land in the forest in hamlet 13, Thanh Huong commune, near the Vietnam-Laos border, to set up a Dong Tao chicken farm.

To gain knowledge about raising chickens, he went to a large chicken farm in Dong Tao commune, Khoai Chau district, Hung Yen province to ask for a job. When he had some experience in breeding and raising techniques, in early 2016 he bought 2 roosters and 5 hens to bring back to his hometown.

The breeding rooster worth more than 5 million VND belongs to Mr. Bui Sy Van. Photo: Tran Dinh Ha

According to Bui Sy Van, raising Dong Tao chickens is not difficult because the basic diet and care regimen is the same as that of native chickens. It is important to feed them regularly and moderately, not letting them get too hungry or too full. The coop must be clean and sheltered in winter because when the chickens are young, they have very little feathers. The most difficult part of raising Dong Tao chickens is breeding because this breed has big feet and is clumsy in mating and incubating eggs, leading to an uneven hatching rate.

To overcome this problem, he bought a mini incubator, which can incubate about 100 eggs at a time, so the hatching rate is high. To avoid crossbreeding, Van keeps in touch with the chicken farm owner in Hung Yen province to regularly exchange male chickens. He is currently creating a record of the origin of each chicken to prevent inbreeding in order to self-breed.

Thanks to the mini incubator, the hatching rate of chicks is very high. Photo: Tran Dinh Ha

More care is needed but in return Dong Tao chickens are very easy to sell. Currently, newly hatched chickens cost 120,000 VND/chicken, each week of age increases by 20,000 VND/chicken. If selling 1kg of meat, the price is from 400,000 - 500,000 VND. A quality adult rooster sells for about 3 - 5 million VND/chicken. 1/3 of the chicks' food is industrial bran, the rest is corn, rice, and rice bran. Before selling the meat, only feed corn and rice bran. During the time the rooster is on mating duty, feed it with bean sprouts.

"Unlike other chicken breeds, Dong Tao chickens can be identified as male and female after a few days of age. Looking at a newly hatched flock, any chick with a black dot on its wing is a male. Thanks to that, customers can confidently choose right away without worrying about making a mistake. I strive to maintain about 50 laying hens and 20 standard roosters for breeding. If the breeding goes well, I will earn over a hundred million dong in profit each year," added Mr. Van.

The chicks are ready to be sold, the male chicks are easy to recognize thanks to the black feathers on their wings. Photo: Tran Dinh Ha

Thanks to his mastery of techniques and good care conditions, from the first breeds, Mr. Van has successfully bred and sold about 300 breeding chickens and more than 200 meat chickens to customers in Vinh city and many other localities, earning a profit of over 120 million VND. Currently, the farm has 8 roosters, 20 hens and hundreds of chicks ready for sale.

Currently, newly hatched chickens cost 120,000 VND/chicken, and each week of age increases by 20,000 VND/chicken. If selling chickens for meat, 1kg costs from 400,000 to 500,000 VND. A quality adult rooster costs about 3 to 5 million VND/chicken. Photo: Tran Dinh Ha.

To make full use of the garden area, in addition to Dong Tao chickens as the main product on the farm, Van also raises other native chickens; provides technical guidance and organizes product consumption for a number of households in the area./.

Tran Dinh Ha