In the season of 'picking' deer antlers in Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn) - In spring, thousands of deer in Quynh Luu (Nghe An) give birth tofortunevelvet, so many customers from all over come to this area to "pick the luck" of deer.

Mr. Van Duc Hai in hamlet 12, Quynh Tan commune (Quynh Luu) is the household that raises the most deer in the commune, each year there are always 30 - 40 deer in the barn. During the deer antlers cutting season, there are days when they can harvest over 5kg of antlers. According to Mr. Hai, the antlers cutting season starts from the first to the seventh lunar month, but the peak season is in the second lunar month. If you count from when the antlers emerge and push out the horns created by the old cutting until harvest, it takes about 45 days or more...

A pair of deer antlers just cut for a customer. Photo: Nhu Thuy

To take care of the deer herd, in addition to planting 3 sao of elephant grass, Mr. Hai also planted bananas to provide food for the deer... "Raising deer is simple, their main food is leaves. This species rarely gets sick. To ensure the quality of deer antlers, about 1 month before Tet I have to supplement starchy foods such as corn, peanuts, and potatoes for the deer herd" - Mr. Hai said.

In the past, deer farmers could only get one batch of antlers per year. Now they have a way to take care of deer to get two batches of antlers, each pair weighing an average of 0.6 - 0.8 kg. Healthy deer can produce antlers weighing more than 1 kg...

Deer antlers are considered "standard" at around 0.6-0.8 kg. This year the price of antlers is higher than previous years, ranging from 10-12 million VND/kg. Photo: Nhu Thuy

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Ky in Quynh Thang commune is one of the households that have raised deer for a long time and said: "When the deer start to produce antlers, the owner often takes care of them by adding foods rich in fat, so the antlers grow very quickly and the quality is also higher. The time for antlers to grow is from 45 to 55 days. During the antlers cutting season, before meeting customers, they must also be cut, then stored in the freezer. If the antlers are left too "old", the quality of the antlers will not meet the requirements."

In every village in Quynh Luu, there is a deer antler cutting group. When a customer is satisfied with a pair of antlers, the deer owner asks the antler "picking" group (about 4-5 people) to come and help. Usually, the customer who places an order chooses a day to cut the antlers and prepares a glass jar, white wine, honey or ginseng for the workers to process on the spot.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Chau, a trader from Hanoi, said: “Nghe An deer velvet is a branded product on the market and is trusted by consumers. This year, market demand is high, velvet prices are higher than in previous years, ranging from 10 to 12 million VND/kg.”

In Quynh Luu, there are thousands of households raising deer for antlers. Photo: Nhu Thuy

The whole district of Quynh Luu has over 11,000 deer, concentrated in the mountainous communes of Quynh Chau, Quynh Tam, Quynh Thang, Tan Thang, Quynh Tan, Quynh Yen...

Mr. Dau Duc Nam - Head of the District Agriculture Department said: Every year, people earn nearly 10 billion VND from deer antlers and breeding animals. However, because there is no brand, the output is unstable. The district is promoting steps to build a brand for deer antlers and deer and increasing the attraction of investment projects to find sustainable output, increase the value of deer farming, contributing to increasing income for farmers.

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Nhu Thuy