Father and son in Huating County, Gansu get rich by raising chickens

Last year, the life of Zhou Like, a poor household in Yuguang Village, Donghua Town, Huating County, was gradually changing because of raising chickens.

When Zhou Like's son Zhou Hongwei was working away from home, he discovered that the under-forest chicken farms were doing quite well, and he also wanted to develop under-forest chicken raising, but due to a lack of funds and technology, this idea had never been put into action. After targeted poverty alleviation and targeted poverty eradication began, the assistance work team helped Zhou Hongwei apply for a 50,000 yuan poverty alleviation loan and a 50,000 yuan interest-subsidized entrepreneurship loan. Taking advantage of the favorable condition that his single household occupied an entire hilltop, he set up an under-forest breeding farm and relied on raising chickens to escape poverty, become rich, and strive for a moderately prosperous life.

After the 2016 Spring Festival, the father and son did not idle. In one go, they fenced off a large stretch of hillside land in front of and behind the house, built chicken coops, put up fencing, brought in feed, and got to work with great energy. In April 2016, the chicken farm was finally completed. Zhou Hongwei bought 1,500 chicks back from Yangling, Shaanxi, and the chicks ran all over the hillside. Over the course of a year, the chicken farm's gross income was more than 100,000 yuan, which instantly boosted Zhou Hongwei's confidence.

Zhou Like told reporters that the family has 9 members, and for many years they had relied entirely on working and farming to get by, with low income. The marriages of his two sons one after another left the family with quite a bit of debt, and to this day they still live in several old houses built twenty years ago. In 2015, Zhou Like had to tear down these few adobe houses and build two simple rooms to make do for the time being. Seeing that all the neighbors had built moderately prosperous homes in the river valley, he felt very uneasy in his heart. "Now the targeted poverty alleviation policies are so good, I, a poor household, cannot remain idle. I must rely on my own hands to escape poverty, become rich, and strive for a moderately prosperous life. I absolutely cannot hold others back."

Although Zhou Hongwei grew up in the countryside, when he first started large-scale breeding, he was completely a "layman." He bought books on breeding, collected relevant information and materials online, took time to visit and consult other breeding bases, and devoted himself to learning "professional knowledge." "City people increasingly like pure green, pollution-free local products from the countryside. Raising free-range chickens under the forest is a very good project with very broad 'money prospects,'" Zhou Hongwei said. "In city markets and supermarkets, a free-range rooster can sell for seventy or eighty yuan, and a free-range egg can sell for more than one yuan, and they sell very well."

Under Zhou Hongwei's influence and guidance, Zhou Like also gradually became an expert in raising chickens. Now, when he talks about raising chickens, he speaks with great fluency: "Raising free-range chickens on the mountain, you can put up netting around the tree trunks according to the terrain, reducing the cost of building coops. The chicks can eat insects, green grass, and so on under the trees, which not only lowers feeding costs but also reduces pests and diseases in the trees. At the same time, the livestock and poultry manure can provide nutrients for the trees and weeds, forming a virtuous cycle..."

"In the past, when I worked away from home and drove transport, I always felt it was not my own way of life, and I could not take care of my family either. Now I raise chickens at my doorstep. Whether I earn more or less, it is my own, and it does not delay taking care of my family. The key is that I feel at ease," Zhou Hongwei said. "This year I plan to build another brooding room, expand the breeding scale, and establish fixed sales channels. This year I also want to build a courtyard-style moderately prosperous house at the foot of the mountain, so that the whole family can live in a new house and have a good life."