Ma Qiang's Guide to Getting Rich by Raising Deer
When people mention Dabancheng, many think of soybeans, rainbow trout and so on. Now, red deer will also bring income to Ma Qiang, a villager in Dabancheng.
On July 9, the reporter came to the Urumqi Oasis Deer Livestock Breeding Cooperative in Team 4 of Weilan New Village, Donggou Township, Dabancheng District, and saw that the velvet antler on the heads of some red deer had been cut and harvested.
Ma Qiang said he raises 100 red deer. It is currently the first-crop velvet antler harvest. One adult male red deer can yield 10 to 15 kg of velvet antler per year; the first crop can yield 10 to 12 kg, and the second crop can yield 2 to 3 kg. At the current market price of more than 1000 yuan per kg of velvet antler, after deducting feeding costs, each male deer can earn an average profit of about 5000 yuan per year. The first-crop velvet antler can bring a profit of more than 100,000 yuan.
In 2014, Ma Qiang happened to see a TV program that described how raising red deer is highly profitable, as they adapt extremely well to the environment and are not easily infected by diseases.
With a daring, can-do spirit, Ma Qiang spent 180,000 yuan to buy 10 red deer and converted the idle land in his own yard into breeding pens to start raising red deer. After half a year of trial breeding, Ma Qiang made up his mind to raise red deer on a large scale, so he introduced another 86 red deer. The herd is mainly male deer, used primarily for producing velvet antler. Some female deer are mainly used for breeding. A red deer has a lifespan of 20 years, and the velvet antler harvesting period is about 15 years.
Li Shenggui, Party branch secretary of Weizi Village, Donggou Township, Dabancheng District, said that most of the 63 breeding households in the village mainly raise cattle and sheep in the traditional way, and currently Ma Qiang is the only one in the village raising red deer. This high-profit specialty breeding has played a leading demonstration role for the whole village. Later, other villagers will be encouraged to raise red deer together, making red deer a specialty brand of the village to boost income.