Raising chickens sets impoverished Huating resident Zhou Like on the road to prosperity
Recently, when this writer arrived at the free-range chicken farm in Xigou She, Yuguang Village, Donghua Town, Huating County, a whistle sounded, and more than 1,000 free-range chickens rushed to the feed trough as if sprinting 100 meters, playing a "pastoral symphony." The person feeding the chickens is Zhou Like, a 58-year-old registered impoverished household member in Yuguang Village. With the help of the village-stationed assistance team, this year he raised ecological free-range chickens on his own hillside plot, and currently has 1,500 chickens on hand. On average, one sells for more than 50 yuan; after deducting costs, the net profit is around 20 yuan. Zhou Like said humorously, "These are my prosperity chickens."
After the targeted poverty alleviation work began, Zhou Like applied for a 50,000-yuan targeted poverty alleviation loan, and the assistance team also helped him apply for another 50,000-yuan interest-subsidized loan for women's entrepreneurship. After this year's Spring Festival, Zhou Like and his son, with the help of the village-stationed assistance team, fenced off the entire large hillside area in front of and behind their house, built chicken coops, put up fencing, brought in feed, and got to work with great energy.
"Raised free-range in a natural environment, the chicks can breathe fresh air, move freely, catch insects, and peck at tender grass, so the chicks have strong immunity and are healthier," Zhou Like said. To add nutrition for the chickens, he regularly gives the free-range chickens an extra meal every day. The "menu" is bran, corn, soybean meal, and other original ecological feeds, which ensures the quality of the free-range chickens. "Huating County wants to achieve county-wide poverty alleviation this year. As an impoverished household, I must rely on my own two hands to escape poverty and must not hold things back," Zhou Like said. Now these 1,500 chickens are already ready for market. As long as I connect with a fixed sales channel and sell these chickens, my chicken farm can expand its scale further, and next year I will also be able to build a courtyard house for myself at the foot of the mountain.