Obsessed with Raising Quail, How Did He Fulfill His Dream of Becoming Wealthy?
"A moderately prosperous society is not truly moderate prosperity unless our rural fellow citizens are doing well." Whether ordinary people can live a moderately prosperous life depends on whether their wallets can bulge; whether their wallets can bulge depends on whether industries can be developed. This is a closely linked, interlocking chain.
Developing industries is the foundation for rapidly increasing the income of farmers and herders. Under the macro situation of comprehensively advancing targeted poverty alleviation, how to vigorously support and develop diversified income-boosting industries such as distinctive agriculture and animal husbandry, agricultural product processing, labor economy, and modern service industries in agricultural and pastoral areas, fully promote the "transformation of development modes and structural adjustment" of agriculture and animal husbandry in poor areas, stimulate internal driving forces and the entrepreneurial spirit, and accelerate the pace of shaking off poverty and becoming wealthy requires the joint efforts of those in governance and the local people. After repeated market investigations and comparisons, Wang Shuyi and his wife discovered the business opportunity of quail farming, and after experiencing many setbacks and frustrations, they ultimately forged a path to prosperity.
Recently, reporters saw locally produced quail eggs for sale in some supermarkets and vegetable shops in Delingha. After learning the source of the quail eggs, reporters visited the Delingha City breeding base located in Keluke Town. Walking into the Tianyuan Breeding Professional Cooperative, which specializes in raising quail, four neat poultry houses were built on chosen sites. In addition to raising quail, the cooperative also has more than 2,000 laying hens and over 2,000 free-range chickens raised specifically for meat, including Silkie chickens, royal chickens, and black native chickens.
A Flash of Inspiration Reveals a Business Opportunity
In the quail breeding house, one could see layer upon layer of attic-style breeding cages filled with quail with full, glossy feathers, some leisurely foraging, others competing and snatching, chirping incessantly. Small, exquisite quail eggs were being filled into small basins by a worker, and this worker collecting quail eggs was Wang Shuyi, the first large-scale quail farmer in the Delingha area and the head of the Tianyuan Breeding Professional Cooperative. This man in his 50s, with a smiling face, looked very capable. It was he who, upon discovering that quail farming in the Delingha area was still a blank, raised funds from multiple sources and introduced 20,000 quail chicks at once, embarking on a poultry breeding path focused on quail farming supplemented by free-range chicken farming, doing big business in specialty breeding.
When talking about why he initially wanted to raise quail, Wang Shuyi recalled that before raising quail, the couple's money had come from raising chickens in previous years. After tasting the sweetness brought by chicken farming, they couldn't help but entertain the idea of engaging in specialty poultry breeding. But what to raise stumped Wang Shuyi. The Delingha area had so many people raising goji chickens, greylag geese, and other wild fowl, and not on a small scale either. If he raised the same things as others, his income would certainly not be higher than theirs. After repeated market investigations and comparisons, the couple discovered that no one in the Delingha area was raising quail, yet the market price of quail eggs was far higher than that of chicken eggs, and quail also has the functions of replenishing qi and nourishing blood, strengthening the body and benefiting the brain. Its nutritional value is twice that of chicken eggs, and quail meat is also a delicacy on many people's dining tables, with good market prospects locally. Why not raise some quail? Faced with this "windfall" of wealth, Wang Shuyi saw the space for market development. After some thought, Wang Shuyi and his wife resolutely decided to go all out in the quail farming business.
With his wife's support and encouragement, Wang Shuyi invested all the money the two had earned from years of hard work elsewhere. In 2015, he contracted 15 mu of land at the Delingha City Keluke Town breeding base, built four poultry houses, established the Tianyuan Breeding Cooperative, and began preparing to raise quail. "Old Wang is willing to learn, willing to work, and willing to endure hardship. From raising chickens in previous years, we also gained a lot of breeding experience. He has mastered all the breeding experience such as disinfection, vaccinations, and feed feeding. At first, we thought that with chicken-raising experience, raising quail would be relatively easy. It was only when we actually started raising quail that we realized it was completely different." Wang Shuyi's wife, Tian Chunxiang, said: "Quail are much harder to raise than chickens, especially the chicks, which have higher requirements for temperature and humidity. In mid-June this year, we purchased our first batch of more than 20,000 quail chicks. During transport, several thousand chicks died. After arriving in Delingha, because the chicks were not adapted to the local climate, large numbers died in the first half month. How to reduce deaths and ensure the survival rate of chicks, how to ensure the egg-laying rate of quail after they grow up, and so on, these are all very important matters, and not a single one can be treated carelessly. We must continuously explore the living habits of quail and master scientific breeding skills." To this end, the couple worked very hard, and ultimately their efforts paid off. In early August, the quail they raised began laying eggs one after another, which filled the couple with anticipation for quail farming.
Overcoming All Difficulties to Raise Quail
Everything is difficult at the beginning, and the early stage of entrepreneurship is always full of hardships. Wang Shuyi, who had always been experienced in raising chickens, was, it must be said, a layman when it came to raising quail. Due to a lack of breeding experience, the first batch of quail chicks he purchased died at a rate of four to five hundred per day in the first few days. Watching the quail die in large numbers, Wang Shuyi saw it with his own eyes and felt anxious in his heart. He even thought that perhaps the dry and cold plateau was simply not suitable for raising quail at all. But on second thought, he felt that entrepreneurship is not an easy matter, and that achieving success would certainly involve many setbacks and frustrations.
On the fourth day after purchasing the quail chicks, Wang Shuyi simply moved into the quail house to carefully tend to the chicks. In the process, he discovered the real reason the chicks kept dying: it turned out that quail chicks have extremely high requirements for temperature and humidity, but on the plateau, even in mid-summer in June, as the temperature dropped after nightfall, the poultry house simply could not reach the temperature needed for the chicks' growth. Knowing the crux of the problem, Wang Shuyi immediately set up two large stoves in the poultry house to raise the temperature to around 36°C. The temperature went up, but without advanced constant-temperature controls, how could he ensure the indoor temperature stayed at 36°C? Without machine control, he could only control it himself. To ensure temperature and humidity, Wang Shuyi also had to sprinkle water three times each night inside the poultry house, watching the thermometer at all times. In this way, Wang Shuyi busied himself day and night for half a month. Under his careful care, the quail chicks grew day by day, and the mortality rate dropped to zero. After 20 days, the grown quail began to be placed in cages for rearing. Wang Shuyi revealed a happy smile; this small success let him see hope.
In order to raise quail well, Wang Shuyi began learning from many sources. By "seeking advice" from experts, searching for relevant information online, watching videos, and listening to lectures, he seriously began learning breeding techniques. Through continuous learning and practice, he gradually mastered technical key points such as how to control temperature, control humidity, mix feed, and prevent disease in quail rearing, and accumulated a certain amount of breeding experience.
"In farming, technology is key. Without solid breeding techniques and experience, it is absolutely impossible." Wang Shuyi told reporters. "Learning while exploring, I have now mastered some rearing experience. Next time I buy quail chicks, I will know how to feed them. Quail grow very fast. In about 20 days, the chicks can grow up; after 50 days, they can start laying eggs; at 60 days, they can reach peak egg production. After quail are placed in cages for rearing, the poultry house temperature needs to be kept at around 25°C year-round. To prevent quail from getting sick due to poor air quality during rearing, no more than 30 quail should be raised in each cage, and the coop must be cleaned once a week. In addition, the coop also needs to be thoroughly disinfected regularly to prevent disease. During rearing, it is also necessary to keep water and feed in the troughs uninterrupted, and pay attention to the coop's temperature, ventilation, lighting, humidity, and other conditions. When winter comes and the temperature drops, the coop must be sealed around with plastic film and turf to keep it warm..." Nowadays, Wang Shuyi speaks fluently and knowledgeably about breeding experience.
Small Quail Open the Door to Wealth
Through continuous exploration and learning, the couple initially mastered quail breeding techniques and gradually tasted the sweetness brought by raising quail. The first batch of quail introduced by the cooperative currently has a stock of more than 10,000 birds. Under the couple's careful management, they are growing well, the mortality rate has been greatly reduced, and the survival rate has reached over 90%. In early August, the quail raised by Wang Shuyi began laying eggs one after another, with average daily egg production reaching about 160 jin, and about 200 jin per day at peak times. They are mainly sold in Delingha City, and quail eggs have gradually won over the market for being locally produced, good in taste, and high in nutritional value.
"Quail generally begin laying eggs after about 40 days, on the plateau about 50 days, and reach peak egg production at 60 days. Once egg laying begins, you cannot casually change the quail's feed. Generally, they are fed twice a day, morning and evening, and must be supplied at fixed times and in fixed amounts. The feed for laying quail must ensure a certain protein content. Quail will only lay eggs when the temperature reaches above 20°C, so the temperature in the poultry house is usually controlled at around 25°C. It cannot fluctuate between hot and cold, so that quail egg production remains relatively stable. Raising quail requires great care; the slightest negligence will affect the quail's egg-laying rate." Tian Chunxiang explained. She told reporters that after the quail they raised began laying eggs, the couple's anxious hearts were finally put at ease.
"Quail eggs are highly nutritious and are regarded as the 'ginseng among animals,' and more and more people love eating them." According to Wang Shuyi, the cooperative's quail currently produce an average of 160 jin of eggs per day, wholesaled to various sales outlets at an ex-factory price of 9 yuan per jin. Calculated over an egg-laying period of 5 to 6 months per year, the income is quite considerable. In addition to selling quail eggs externally, culled quail can also be sold to restaurants for people to eat, adding another source of income. After deducting costs such as feed and labor, raising quail always makes money over the course of a year, and the good prospects further strengthened their determination to raise quail.
Walking out of the poultry house, a worker was seen loading boxes of quail eggs onto a vehicle. Tian Chunxiang told reporters that this was currently the peak egg-laying period for quail, and these eggs were all prepared for delivery to some supermarkets and vegetable shops in Delingha. At present, the cooperative's quail farming business is thriving more and more each day. Speaking of future plans, Wang Shuyi said with expectation on his face: "In the next year or two, if the market development momentum is good, I hope to continue expanding the scale of the farm and turn small quail into a big industry."