Wild pheasant farming forges a new path to wealth and higher income
When it comes to rural farming, most people think first of pigs, sheep, cattle and the like. But as society advances, farmers in the new era no longer stick to tradition; they raise whatever is trendy and whatever makes money. Sure enough, Zhang Shiwei, a poor household in Group 4 of Qingshan Village, Shihui Town, Qianjiang District, started raising wild pheasants at home.
On June 3, the reporter walked into Zhang Shiwei's wild pheasant farm and heard him tell the story of his path out of poverty. In the morning, when the reporter arrived at Zhang Shiwei's home, he and his mother Li Wendong were feeding the flock. The shed was full of wild pheasants with strong builds and brilliant plumage; some pecked leisurely at wild grass, others romped and played, adding a splash of bright scenery to the quiet mountain wilds.
"Before, a whole month of hard work was only enough to eat"
Zhang Shiwei, 38 this year, is a poor household in Qingshan Village who just shook off poverty at the end of last year. Now only he and his mother live at home; his mother is in poor health and needs long-term medication to keep going. Although they are out of poverty, life is not comfortable.
"If it weren't for having to care for a sick person, how could our family have become this poor?" Speaking of the cause of their poverty, his mother Li Wendong, her eyes reddening with emotion, told the reporter. One day in 1982, Zhang Shiwei's father fell down the mountain while cutting firewood on the mountain, and from then on the family's main breadwinner was bedridden and paralyzed for a long time. At that time, Zhang Shiwei was 5 years old and his younger sister was only 5 months old; the entire burden of the family fell on his mother Li Wendong's shoulders.
"At that time, Zhang Shiwei was often sick too. I alone had to provide food, clothing and daily expenses for three people, and basically one month's work was only enough to eat, with nothing left over," Li Wendong said. Years of toil have left her with a body full of ailments. In 2000, Zhang Shiwei went to Guangzhou to start working as a migrant worker; in 2015 his father passed away, and in order to care for his mother he decided to return to his hometown to make a living.
After returning home, for a long time Zhang Shiwei had not figured out what he wanted to do. Later, with the help of the village poverty alleviation team stationed in the village, he decided to start his own business. Having learned from watching TV and going online about information on making money by raising wild pheasants, he sought advice from many sources and bought relevant books. After finding out about the market conditions for wild pheasant farming, he bought 100 wild pheasants and decided to raise some in his own yard to give it a try.
"Now, I've started to have savings"
"At the beginning I had no experience and didn't dare buy many; I learned and summed up experience while feeding them." At first, Zhang Shiwei ran into quite a few problems: pheasants flew away, got sick and died, the farm temperature was too low, and so on. But through trial and error and summing up experience, Zhang Shiwei quickly grasped the living habits of wild pheasants, and the survival rate of the birds he raised was relatively high.
Besides thoroughly understanding the pheasants' habits and environment, Zhang Shiwei also taught himself farming techniques. He told the reporter that in order to do a good job on disease prevention, he consulted experts and technicians at the animal husbandry station many times. The farm also worked out, in light of actual conditions, a scientific immunization program for the pheasants, and he persisted in going deep into the sheds every morning and evening to observe the flock's spirits, feeding, drinking and droppings, and to listen carefully to the birds' breathing and calls.
"Although there were some losses among last year's 100 wild pheasants, with the government's help sales were very good, so I used the money from selling them to buy this year's chicks; I'm not afraid of having no savings," Zhang Shiwei said. With the government's strong support, he had never imagined that in one year 100 wild pheasants could change his formerly impoverished circumstances.
Last year's 100 wild pheasants let Zhang Shiwei get a taste of success, and at the same time gave him confidence about escaping poverty. He gained the ambition to take the initiative to escape poverty and a spirit full of drive. The Shihui Town government and the assisting departments sought out Zhang Shiwei many times, encouraging him to update his thinking, take account of actual conditions, and look in many directions for a path to wealth. Through development, on the original basis, he expanded the scale of his farming and this year raised another 300.
"In the future, full of confidence"
In conversation, Zhang Shiwei told the reporter that the main difference between wild pheasants and domesticated chickens is that the meat is fine and tender, high in protein and low in fat, and during the raising process they eat less than domestic chickens. In addition, what they are usually fed is grain and vegetables, which are healthy and environmentally friendly things that meet modern people's health requirements, so they are very popular on the market.
Zhang Shiwei's wild pheasant farm is developing step by step, and many nearby villagers have been moved by it. "Villagers often come to see how my wild pheasant farm is doing, and I'm very happy to pass on my experience," Zhang Shilin said. As long as he can make a success of raising wild pheasants, he will give his full support to any surrounding villagers who want to raise them.
"I'm planning to buy an incubator, and from now on hatch the chicks myself, which is convenient both for me and for the surrounding villagers who want to raise them." Speaking of his plans for the future, Zhang Shiwei said with full confidence that since he has already set out on this farming path, he is confident he can walk it well.
At present, Zhang Shiwei is expanding the scale of his farming and is committed to spreading this specialty farming business in the local area, driving local villagers to escape poverty and become better off. He hopes that one day wild pheasants can enter thousands of households and become as widespread as raising domestic chickens. He is full of confidence in the development prospects of this specialty farming business.
Reporter's note: A person's spiritual poverty is far more terrifying than material poverty. If poor villagers lack the ambition to take the initiative to escape poverty and long hold the dependent mindset of "waiting, relying and asking," when will the road out of poverty ever end? Fortunately, poor households like Zhang Shiwei who realize in their thinking that they must take the initiative to escape poverty are the majority; they have the determination and confidence to overcome all difficulties, and they have the methods and spiritual drive to become wealthy, so escaping poverty and achieving prosperity is no longer a difficult matter.