Scientific chicken farming helps villagers in Dongpo Township, Wuding County, Yunnan escape poverty and become prosperous

Bi Hongsheng, a farmer in Puzhao Village, Dongpo Township, Wuding County, who graduated from junior middle school, has embarked on the path out of poverty toward prosperity through scientific chicken farming. Since last year, of the more than 32,000 temperature-acclimated chicks he raised, each earned an average profit of 3 yuan, with a net income of more than 96,000 yuan; he also raised more than 1,900 commercial chickens for banquets and festivals, each earning a profit of 22 yuan, bringing in 42,000 yuan. He is truly a capable chicken-farming entrepreneur in Dongpo Township.

In the past, Bi Hongsheng's family relied on traditional grain-growing methods, with two harvests a year of "corn and wheat, wheat and corn," but increased output did not mean increased income, and their standard of living hovered on the edge of mere subsistence, making it hard to prosper. On a bus ride home one day, he overheard a township livestock officer sitting nearby chatting and analyzing the current state of farming: first, the number of young and middle-aged people going out to work was increasing year by year, and the number of elderly and children left behind was growing; raising cattle meant not being able to cut grass, raising sheep meant not being able to chase them, raising pigs meant not being able to buy piglets, and carrying feed was hard and selling fattened pigs was difficult. Only chicken farming was suitable, because buying and selling, collecting eggs, and slaughtering were all convenient. Second, the investment was small, the cost was low, and the requirements for chicken coops were not high; moreover, chickens grow quickly, lay eggs quickly, and produce results quickly, so the future of rural chicken farming had broad prospects.

The speaker did not mean it, but the listener took it to heart. So Bi Hongsheng raised funds from various sources and bought more than 500 chicks, ready to go all out. However, due to a lack of scientific breeding techniques, an outbreak of chicken plague killed almost all the chicks. Faced with this sudden blow, he quickly freed himself from the pain, and through calm reflection, he realized that his failure was due to not understanding science and technology. From then on, Bi Hongsheng took the initiative to buy books on scientific chicken farming to read, and in particular attended the chicken-farming technical training courses held by the county agricultural bureau, systematically learning and mastering practical chicken-farming techniques.

In early 2013, he borrowed 80,000 yuan, and after simply reinforcing and renovating the chicken coop, he bought back 3,000 chicks for temperature-acclimation rearing, beginning his second sprint. Bi Hongsheng learned from the lessons of his past failures, and strictly followed the chicken-farming techniques he had learned, regularly administering vaccines and regularly disinfecting, minimizing losses and ensuring that the chicks he sold had strong disease resistance and were convenient for the elderly and children to raise. In this way he won credibility and increased profits.