After the new chicken-raising technology was developed, "bed eggs" are in high demand

Fermentation-bed ecological pig farming is nothing new, but applying it to chicken raising is a challenge, because different animals excrete different manure and therefore require different fermenting microorganisms. Now, 30,000 chickens in Nanjing are living on fermentation ecological beds, and farmers can cut labor by half compared with traditional farming, easily netting 25,000 yuan per shed "with their eyes closed." This technological improvement is thanks to two years of unremitting effort by the Nanjing Municipal Agriculture Commission.

At a chicken-raising base in Luhe District, Nanjing, called Qinbang Jipin, the author observed the fermentation-bed chicken-raising technology. In a 270 sq m high-shouldered double-arch greenhouse, 1,300 chicks were foraging. The fermentation bed, laid with 2.6 tonnes of rice husks and straw, not only provides the flock with a good growing environment, but also converts chicken manure and rice husks into bacterial protein, making good feed for the chicks.

A month ago, "bed eggs" quietly appeared on shelves in some high-end shopping malls in Nanjing and Shanghai. These eggs, which look no different from ordinary free-range eggs, actually sell for 5 yuan each, and are still in short supply. Technicians explained that fermentation-bed farming is best combined with pen raising and natural free-range raising, so when farmers build fermentation beds, most choose hilly areas with grass and trees. The chickens live on environmentally friendly beds inside the greenhouse, and have a natural exercise yard outside, keeping the chickens as close to a natural state as possible.

Fang Zhongyou, deputy director of the Nanjing Municipal Agriculture Commission, told the author that urban farming faces two bottlenecks, namely pollution and disease, and the impact of land policy. Practice has proven that fermentation-bed chicken raising can break through these two bottlenecks and also achieve a win-win for citizens and farmers. It is reported that this year Nanjing will drive farmers to develop bed-based chicken raising through subsidies, with a target of 500,000 chickens.