Farmer keeps sika deer for 17 years, builds a path to prosperity with 60 deer

When people talk about sika deer, many find them quite mysterious; these beautiful spirits of the forest are truly seldom seen. But in Jiangcun He'ai Village, Zhuqiao Town, Laizhou City, there are more than 60 sika deer from Northeast China. Pan Enbo went from a layman in deer farming to an expert; a 17-year deer-raising career has not only brought him wealth and honor, but also made him and the sika deer close friends.

When the reporter arrived at Pan Enbo's deer farm in Jiangcun He'ai Village, Zhuqiao Town, Laizhou City, he and his wife Zhang Xiulian were milking a goat inside the deer pen. Why is a goat being kept in the deer pen? And what is the goat's milk used for?

The fawn before them is called Lulu and was born more than 50 days ago. Pan Enbo's wife Zhang Xiulian told the reporter that this milk goat was borrowed specially from a friend for Lulu.

This year has been a very happy year for Pan Enbo's family, because their deer farm has gained 13 new sika deer fawns. This number is nearly twice the number he had when he first started raising deer; in 1999 he introduced 7 deer to begin farming.

When he first entered the deer farming industry, Pan Enbo made fairly smooth progress, and the sika deer grew from 7 to more than 20. But as he raised more and more sika deer, problems appeared. Deer are herbivores, and eating too much concentrated feed makes them prone to illness; at one point about 15 died, with losses of more than 300,000 yuan.

The deaths of the sika deer and his wife's complaints shook Pan Enbo's confidence in deer farming. Should he continue raising sika deer? In order to learn farming experience and raise the sika deer well, in 2007 Pan Enbo went to Jilin and partnered with others to start raising sika deer.

Bringing back experience, Pan Enbo returned to Laizhou and settled down to continue raising sika deer. After more than ten years of development, Pan Enbo's deer sheds now cover more than 3 mu of land, with more than 60 sika deer.

Every part of the sika deer is valuable; velvet antler, deer tail, deer sinew and deer blood all have high medicinal value. Pan Enbo says that although deer farming carries certain risks, the returns are high, and as long as you understand their habits, sika deer are still quite easy to raise. Today, Pan Enbo has mastered sika deer breeding and comprehensive disease prevention techniques, and has become an expert in deer farming.