Chicken Commander Blazes a Trail to Wealth Through Ecological Farming
"Toot toot toot..." When we arrived at the free-range chicken farm of Lükang Ecological Agriculture Co., Ltd. in Jiaozhuang Village, Dafengying Town, Sheqi County, we happened to catch the fixed daily feeding time. At the sound of a whistle, more than 10,000 free-range chickens roaming deep in the woods rushed to the feed troughs like sprinters in a 100-meter dash. "Cluck cluck cluck..." "Cock-a-doodle-doo..." Ten thousand chickens all crowing at once struck up a "pastoral symphony."
The one blowing the whistle is Li Songhai, general manager of Lükang Company. He began his return-home startup last year, using the open space under the forest to free-range ecological chickens. At present, the farm has nearly 5,000 roosters and more than 10,000 hens, producing over 4,000 eggs a day, with annual earnings of five to six hundred thousand yuan. A "post-80s" college graduate who loves the countryside rather than the city, he has taken root in the soil on the road to wealth, and locals jokingly call him the "Chicken Commander."
"Now that living standards have risen, people generally pursue healthy diets, and raising free-range chickens is a great project." Like many young people in rural areas, Li Songhai used to work away from home. He noticed that city people were becoming increasingly particular about "eating," that in the market a free-range rooster could sell for over a hundred yuan and a single free-range chicken egg for one or two yuan, and that sales were very good, so the idea of raising free-range chickens sprang up in his mind.
Li Songhai never fights an unprepared battle. In his spare time, he bought books on farming, gathered relevant information online, and whenever he had a free moment he went to the market to do research. The good market prospects further strengthened his confidence in raising free-range chickens, so he decided to quit his job and return home to do it.
Around the Spring Festival of 2015, Li Songhai was not idle. He rented a large stretch of poplar forest at the village entrance, built chicken coops, put up fence netting, bought chicks, brought in feed, hired workers, and ran through the paperwork, throwing himself into the work with great energy. By early spring, the chicken farm was completed, the sign of Lükang Ecological Agriculture Co., Ltd. was put up, and the dream of ecological wealth was turning into reality step by step.
"Free-ranging in a natural environment lets the chickens breathe fresh air and move about freely, so they have strong immunity and are healthier. Apart from regularly feeding them forage grass, green vegetables and other food, they usually catch insects and peck at tender grass in the woods," Li Songhai said. The reporter saw that on the farm covering more than 50 mu, the chicken coops are clean and tidy, relying entirely on natural ventilation and natural light, with the temperature and humidity inside basically changing with the seasons, no different from a farmhouse rearing environment; in the woods, nearly 20,000 free-range chickens forage freely among the grass, each with red feathers and a sturdy body; and the more than ten mu of high-quality forage grass planted at the edge of the woods provides the essential natural feed for the chickens' growth. To add nutrition for the chickens, Li Songhai regularly blows the whistle as a "assembly call" for an extra meal every day. The "menu" is original ecological feed such as wheat bran, corn and soybean meal, which ensures the quality of the free-range chickens' meat and eggs, and the products are in short supply.
"The free-range chickens we raise, the roosters can be absorbed by local markets in surrounding counties and cities, while the eggs are all sold online, mainly supplying southern city markets such as Shanghai and Guangzhou." In the packing workshop beside the farm, three or four workers divide the work in an orderly way, some specifically taking orders online, some sorting and boxing eggs, bustling with activity, with dozens of boxes of eggs stacked neatly, waiting to be shipped out.
"In the past, working for others, although the pay was not low, the hours were tight and I always felt uneasy; now raising chickens at my doorstep, whether I earn more or less it's all my own, and it doesn't get in the way of looking after my family. The key is that I feel at ease." Free-ranging chickens gathers wealth. Relying on a good ecological environment, scientific rearing methods and a "trendy" sales model, Li Songhai has opened the door to prosperity through free-range chickens under the forest and fulfilled his dream of building a fortune. "Next, I also want to do my part for targeted poverty alleviation, so that the poor people in the village can make 'chicken money' together with me and shake off poverty and become rich as soon as possible."