Medicinal-herb chicken farming helps Li Jinlong get rich

Early in the morning on December 28, many people drove to the Longding Medicinal-Herb Free-Range Chicken and Rare Poultry Farm in TATA Water Gacha, Barun Bieli Town, Alxa Left Banner, to buy chickens. "Sales are pretty good. We basically get fifty or sixty orders a month, and about 70% of the chickens at the farm have now been sold," said Li Jinlong, the person in charge of the farm.

Walking into the farm, the reporter saw several hundred free-range "herbal chickens" freely scratching for food on the grassland. These chickens had glossy, fluffy feathers and strong, sturdy claws. In the warehouse next to the duty room, apart from feed, there were also large piles of common Chinese medicinal herbs such as astragalus, licorice and cistanche. "These chickens are all raised on Chinese medicinal herbs. They have never been given antibiotics, nor have they ever received preventive injections," Li Jinlong said. "Chickens fed with Chinese medicinal herbs are lean and have nourishing effects. More importantly, food safety is guaranteed. According to seasonal climate changes, we have special prescriptions. The winter prescription mainly focuses on tonifying qi, while the summer prescription mainly focuses on clearing heat and detoxifying. The Chinese medicinal herbs are boiled in corresponding proportions and then mixed into the feed and drinking water."

A chance opportunity led Li Jinlong to unexpectedly encounter the path of raising medicinal-herb free-range chickens and rare poultry. "I happened to see a case of raising chickens with Chinese medicinal herbs, and at the time I also had many doubts. I looked up a lot of related information, and with my questions, I went to a traditional Chinese medicine doctor and told him all my ideas and concerns." After receiving the traditional Chinese medicine doctor's affirmation, Li Jinlong became even more determined in his idea of raising medicinal-herb chickens. With his family's support, in April this year Li Jinlong purchased a total of 1,000 guinea fowl, free-range chickens, Helan Mountain pheasants, silkie chickens and others. Through the internet and books, he quickly mastered a lot of knowledge about farming. "With these tonics, the chickens not only do not get sick easily, but are also very strong and look very energetic. The key is that they are very nutritious!" Li Jinlong said with a smile all over his face.

Because the chicken meat is good in texture and the farming is almost entirely original ecological farming, Li Jinlong's chickens won widespread favor among diners in just a few short months. "This year I only trial-raised 1,000 chickens. The chickens are all very healthy, and both the free-range chickens and eggs sell very well. Because the current scale is still small, I do not dare take many of the larger orders. Next year I plan to continue expanding the farming scale, promote the structural adjustment of new-type agriculture and animal husbandry farming, and strive to create a green ecological product brand for Barun Bieli Town." A confident smile appeared on Li Jinlong's face.