Peacock farming puts Hutubi County farmers on the road to prosperity

It is often said that peacocks fly southeast, but nowadays in **, visitors can still admire the colorful peacocks that symbolize good fortune. In recent days, the more than 300 peacocks raised by Kou Shixun in Lianfeng Village, Dafeng Town, Hutubi County, Changji Prefecture, **, have attracted many tourists to come and admire them.

At the more than 300 sq m peacock breeding base in Lianfeng Village, Dafeng Town, Hutubi County, the reporter saw peacocks now spreading their tails, now cooing, now strolling leisurely, while tourists who had come after hearing about the place kept pressing the shutter to capture the beautiful moments of peacocks spreading their tails. Tourist Liu Jing said: "These peacocks' feathers are especially bright and colorful, and the peacocks spreading their tails is very beautiful too. Here in Hutubi, being able to see peacock farming really catches people's eyes."

Kou Shixun, 53 this year, learned in 2011 through CCTV's finance channel about the story of Deng De, the nation's peacock king, who became rich by raising peacocks, and so the idea of raising peacocks was born. Kou Shixun said: "At that time one peacock egg cost 200 yuan. When I saw that one egg cost 200 yuan, I thought these peacocks must be very valuable. I wanted to raise them myself, but relatives and friends said the risk was too great, that something from the south might not necessarily survive if raised here."

Under repeated persuasion from friends, Kou Shixun gave up the idea of raising peacocks. In 2015, a car accident caused a fracture in Kou Shixun's right arm, leaving him unable to do physical labor. So Kou Shixun took up his dream of raising peacocks again, traveling to Jiangxi, Henan, Shandong and other places to investigate, and spent more than 200,000 yuan to bring in more than 200 peacocks. Kou Shixun said: "After a year of trial raising last year, peacock farming has still been successful. Actually peacocks are easy to raise, much like chickens. One peacock can eat more than 100 grams of feed a day, and over a year the cost of raising one peacock is only about 200 yuan."

Kou Shixun told the reporter that as the king of a hundred birds, peacocks have low farming costs and high returns, and they save time and labor, do not require much manpower or occupy good farmland, and cause no pollution, being clean and hygienic. Generally after about 10 months of raising, they can reach 3-4 kg, and one commercial peacock can sell for about 1,000 yuan, while ornamental peacocks bring even higher economic returns: "The whole peacock is a treasure. For example, this male peacock has 132 gorgeous feathers on its body, and one feather can sell for 10 yuan, so it can be made into peacock fans. Old peacocks can also be made into peacock specimens, and one specimen can sell for 5,000-6,000 yuan. Peacock eggs specially packed in gift boxes sell for 450 yuan for 9 peacock eggs. On top of that, peacocks can also be viewed ornamentally, and a one-year-old peacock can easily sell for 1,000 yuan."

At present, Kou Shixun is already raising more than 300 peacocks. Watching each peacock spread its tail in such an endearing, clumsy and brilliantly colorful way, Kou Shixun's heart is full of joy. Kou Shixun said: "This year I have already bought two incubators. Of these peacocks of mine that are over two years old, half will be sold and half will be hatched to expand the scale. If conditions permit, I want to get 200 mu of land near the mountain, 100 mu for raising peacocks and 100 mu for economic fruit growing, combining farming and planting to create a new tourist attraction in Hutubi."