The chicken farming industry becomes a money tree for farmers to get rich

These days, Liu Fencang of Fodianwan Village, Tuqiao Township, Qingcheng County, is busy building chicken coops. Although the weather is cold, he is full of drive for starting his own business, because his long-cherished dream of raising chickens is about to come true.

Liu Fencang is a farmer born and raised in Fodianwan Village. Although he has years of experience in raising chickens, his farming scale had never expanded due to a lack of funds. Learning of this, the village designated him as a key breeding assistance household, provided him with free chicks, and also helped him build a standard chicken coop.

Liu Fencang said: "Raising chicks doesn't make much money. I want to expand the scale so I can earn a bit more."

Now, Liu Fencang has strong momentum for developing his breeding business, and he also plans to develop his own woodland to raise chickens under the trees.

Liu Fencang said: "The input for one chicken is 40 yuan, and selling one chicken for 80 yuan still earns 40 yuan. If I don't sell for more than a year, I can sell two batches. One batch can bring in 80,000 yuan, and two batches bring in 160,000 yuan. I think the prospects for this development are especially fast, much better than raising sheep or growing crops."

In Fodianwan Village, there are 14 other villagers like Liu Fencang developing the chicken farming industry, and more than 100 free-range households have also achieved centralized breeding through cooperatives.

Zhang Zhongbing, Party branch secretary of Fodianwan Village, Tuqiao Township, said: "Our village has established two large cooperatives. With 14 large-scale breeding households and more than 100 free-range households, everything from slaughtering to selling goes through the cooperatives. This makes it easier for free-range households to sell, and chick cultivation is also very convenient."

Tuqiao Township is located in the northern mountainous area of our county. The harsh natural environment has resulted in a large poor population here. In the targeted poverty alleviation work, after many rounds of investigation, Tuqiao Township explored a wealth-building industry suited to local development.

Zhao Tong, Party secretary of Tuqiao Township, said: "We considered that if the people are to escape poverty, there must be a short-term industry to support them, and if they are to get rich after escaping poverty, there must be a long-term industry to support them. In this regard, we explored a chicken farming under the trees industry."

The forest includes two major parts: ecological forest and apple tree planting. The combination of forest and fruit extends the industrial chain. The township also provides free chicks to breeding households in each village, helping them strengthen their drive and confidence for getting rich.

Zhao Tong said: "Each village builds 2 cooperatives and supports 10 large-scale households. For the remaining small households, each household is given 20 chicks, large-scale households are given 150 chicks, and cooperatives are given 2,000 chicks. If large-scale households build chicken sheds, we give each household a subsidy of 5,000 yuan."

Now, this model has been fully implemented in two villages in Tuqiao Township and is expected to achieve full coverage of the entire township by the end of next year, making the "chicken farming" industry truly a "money tree" for the people to increase income and get rich.