Small black chickens in Wusu City become a stepping stone to wealth for farmers

On May 10, at the home of villager Zhang Shiheng in Chengcao Village, Baiquan Town, **Wusu City, lively small black chickens chased one another around the yard.

Zhang Shiheng said: "The scientific name of the small black chicken is the green-shell laying hen. Despite their small size, they are valuable from head to toe - black feathers, black skin, black meat, black bones, black internal organs, and green-shell eggs, every part has its use."

For Zhang Shiheng, the small black chicken is the stepping stone to wealth he has found. Zhang Shiheng is 38 years old this year and runs a media company in Urumqi. Through market research, Zhang Shiheng found that Wusu City mostly raises breeds such as the Partridge chicken, Silkie chicken, and Wenchang chicken, leaving a gap in the market for green-shell laying hen farming.

This gave Zhang Shiheng a glimmer of hope for wealth. In March this year, Zhang Shiheng introduced 1,000 small black chicken chicks from Hubei Province at 8.5 yuan each, including 400 female chicks and 600 male chicks. At present, Zhang Shiheng mainly feeds the small black chickens with corn, oil residue, and soybean residue. After some time, he will release the small black chickens for under-forest farming, which is more conducive to the chickens' growth.

Zhang Shiheng said: "The small black chickens eat insects and grass among the trees and vegetation, enjoy ample sunlight and exercise, and their disease resistance is far higher than that of chickens raised indoors. Because the meat is delicious and nutritious, and both the meat and eggs are pollution-free green food, they are very popular in the market."

At present, all of Zhang Shiheng's small black chickens have been contracted through orders, mainly sold to Urumqi, Korla, and other places.

Besides signing orders, Zhang Shiheng also provides boarding and rearing services for retail customers. The boarding price for a small black hen is 1,000 yuan each, of which the hen itself and all the green-shell eggs laid by the hen belong to the ordering customer. The boarding price for a small black rooster is 300 yuan each. Total income is expected to reach 440,000 yuan, a considerable return.

"My free-range small black chickens and feed-additive-free rearing method are very popular in the market, so I had the idea of offering boarding services. This way, customers can eat with peace of mind, and my sales are guaranteed," said Zhang Shiheng.

With excellent quality, considerable "money" prospects, and a complete order system, Zhang Shiheng plans to expand the scale this year, use e-commerce platforms for promotion, and operate both online and offline simultaneously, leading more people onto the road to wealth.