The Farming Journey of "Egg-laying Hen King" Zhang Weiying

Every morning, Zhang Weiying, his wife and several workers arrive at the chicken farm on time to collect eggs. After neatly packing more than 500 kg of eggs into baskets, they load them onto trucks and sell them to the county's farmers' markets and major supermarkets. From an initial "layman" in laying hen farming to now becoming the "Egg-laying Hen King" with 15,000 laying hens in stock and an annual output of 350,000 kg of fresh eggs - relying on farming experience accumulated over 20 years and solid farming techniques, Zhang Weiying has smoothed over the bumps on his entrepreneurial path with diligence and written success with sweat. "Only healthy chickens can lay high-quality eggs." When talking about raising chickens, 46-year-old Zhang Weiying speaks eloquently. As soon as Zhang Weiying left school, he went to work as a laborer at a local crankshaft factory. Due to careless operation, his left hand was cut by a machine and became disabled. Unwilling to remain idle at home, he looked everywhere for a suitable project to develop. By a chance opportunity, he saw policies about government support for ordinary people to engage in farming and breeding. After investigating many options, he decided to go into laying hen farming. "At first, more than 30 households in our village were engaged in laying hen farming. Now I am the only one left who has persisted." Zhang Weiying told the reporter that he initially persuaded his family, took 10,000 yuan from selling pigs, built chicken coops, bought chicks, and went everywhere to find experts to learn about feeding and veterinary techniques. When busy, he did farm work; when free, he accumulated experience. By the end of 1997, he had recovered all his costs. Seeing considerable profits, Zhang Weiying expanded his scale. In 2004, Zhang Xichao, secretary of the Party branch of Nanwei Village, recognized Zhang Weiying's diligent and pragmatic "enterprising spirit" and specially allocated an area as a breeding zone for Zhang Weiying to make it easier for him to expand his scale. "Speaking of it, I really have to thank these village officials. During that period, they helped handle the land lease contract and coordinated and contacted the credit union for loans. The scale quickly expanded to twice its original size."

The road of entrepreneurship is never smooth sailing. In 2009, a large-scale outbreak of chicken plague swept across the entire North China region. Due to improper management, 8,000 chickens were affected, causing direct economic losses of more than 200,000 yuan. Zhang Weiying and his wife saw it with their own eyes and felt the pain in their hearts. Under the careful guidance of experts from the Animal Husbandry Bureau of Yanhu District, Yuncheng, Zhang Weiying's chicken farm gradually got back on track.

Since then, apart from delivering eggs every day, Zhang Weiying has spent almost all his time at the chicken farm. In the morning, he observes subtle changes in the laying hens to detect and prevent diseases in time. At night, after the laying hens go to sleep, he enters the chicken coop and listens quietly for symptoms of respiratory disease in the flock. In addition to continuously learning advanced chicken-raising knowledge and feeding techniques, he also actively communicates with and learns from experts, and has established a liaison mechanism with breeding experts in Yuncheng. Hard work pays off. According to the knowledge and techniques he learned, Zhang Weiying's farming technology level has continued to improve, his farming scale has continued to expand, and his income has naturally risen accordingly. "Look, every egg is very well-proportioned and plump. In order to achieve optimal quality, I have always insisted on buying corn and soybean oil of the best quality as feed. At the same time, I often go to supermarkets to exchange for dairy products nearing their expiration date and mix them into the feed to raise the laying hens, thereby increasing egg production. Now, at the highest point, they can lay 600 kg of eggs per day, which already counts as very high yield." Zhang Weiying said proudly, "Now my business is progressing more and more smoothly. If there is a good opportunity, then, referring to the large-scale farms in surrounding counties (cities), I will establish a 'farmers + company' farming model, build Xingyuan Farm into the best breeding demonstration base locally, and help more farmers become prosperous." Speaking of future development, Zhang Weiying is full of confidence.