Veteran Transfers to Peacock Farming, Opens the Door to Prosperity with Hard Work and Wisdom

In Gouli Village, Hutouya Town, Laizhou, a veteran named Zhong Guohui, after three years of exploration and practice, has mastered a set of peacock breeding techniques and opened his own peacock farm. Today, his farm has 300 peacocks, and the scale is gradually expanding.

Starting the Path of "Independent Entrepreneurship" Amid Family's Disbelief

Zhong Guohui, 39 years old this year, was born and raised in Gouli Village, Hutouya Town. After serving 16 years in the military, Zhong Guohui was discharged from the army at the end of 2011. Unlike other comrades-in-arms who found jobs in work units, he searched everywhere for opportunities to start his own business. Why did he choose to farm peacocks? Zhong Guohui told reporters: "When I was about to be discharged, I had always had the idea of choosing my own career. One year when I went home to visit relatives, I happened to see an episode about peacock farming on CCTV2's finance channel. Things are precious when they are rare, especially today when people highly advocate green and environmentally friendly living. Farming peacocks not only allows people to admire them, but also provides delicious food for the dining table. Seeing that people on TV were quite successful at farming them, I developed a strong interest in it."

In early 2012, Zhong Guohui and his wife, under the doubtful gaze of relatives and friends, took out most of their savings to study breeding techniques in Anhui and Nanjing, build sheds, enclose cages, and purchased 100 peacock chicks, beginning the path of peacock farming. There were many difficulties and obstacles on the path of farming. Farming was not that simple. Because epidemic prevention and the market had not been fully considered, they encountered difficulties not long after starting. Zhong Guohui told reporters: "Young peacock chicks need to be vaccinated once a week. I clearly remember that the mortality rate of my first batch of chicks was 30%. At that time, my experience was almost zero, and I had not done a good job of preventing diseases in advance. There was no market, and funds could not be turned over. My wife and I went door to door to hotels to promote sales. It was really not easy at that time!"

The "Beautiful Business" Has Broad Prospects

"Farming such beautiful animals as peacocks makes me happy every day. I think this is a 'beautiful business'!" Zhong Guohui told reporters.

Now, as the breeding techniques gradually mature, the peacocks on the farm are being raised in an orderly manner. Yesterday, in Zhong Guohui's 5-mu farm, the reporter saw: blue peacocks either strolling leisurely on the ground, or perching on wooden frames to cool off, and some would even boldly interact with people. After stretching their necks and singing a tune, their tail feathers suddenly opened, dazzling brilliantly in the sunlight, extremely beautiful. According to reports, the peacock eggs, commercial peacocks, and meat peacocks on the farm now have stable local markets as well as markets in Yantai, Qixia, Qingdao, Longkou, and other places, and have even attracted many out-of-province merchants through the internet.

Speaking of the economic value of peacocks, Zhong Guohui talked about them as if counting his family treasures: "The peacock is the king of a hundred birds and a symbol of good fortune. It has high ornamental, edible, and medicinal value. As far as edibility is concerned, whether it is meat or eggs, the protein content is quite rich. In addition, the benefits of farming blue peacocks are relatively high. One peacock is worth dozens of chickens."

Speaking of future development, Zhong Guohui and his wife are very confident: "Peacock banquets in large hotels are deeply loved by consumers. At present, quite a few hotels have placed orders with me. A single tail feather from a peacock costs dozens of yuan, and a mounted adult bird specimen can sell for more than 5,000 yuan. Today, market demand for peacocks is not small, and the prospects are considerable." Next, the couple plans to further expand the scale of development, first further developing and strengthening their own farm, and then driving surrounding farmers to farm them, broadening a larger market.