Raising chickens under the canopy of yellow camellia helps reduce costs

Ba Che is a mountainous district of Quang Ninh province. In recent years, Ba Che has been restructuring agricultural and forestry production with the goal of exploiting potential, enhancing the value, efficiency and competitiveness of key agricultural products.

Mr. Dam Van Cuong's family (Khe Long Ngoai village, Thanh Son commune, Ba Che district, Quang Ninh province) is one of the leading households in converting production models to increase income.

Entering the model garden of Mr. Dam Van Cuong's family, we were amazed by a hill area of ​​nearly 10 hectares with many types of trees of high economic value such as yellow camellia, acacia, canarium, rattan, sa moc, acacia, pine, cinnamon... In which, the area for growing yellow camellia alone is about 2.5 hectares.

Golden flower tea is a precious medicinal herb, known as the "queen of teas", growing naturally in the mountainous areas of Ba Che district. In the past, seeing Chinese traders buying it in large quantities at high prices, many people rushed into the forest to hunt for it, to the point that golden flower tea was in danger of extinction in Ba Che.

Understanding the value of yellow camellia, since 2015, Mr. Cuong has traveled to each forest to find native yellow camellia varieties to grow and expand the area on his hill. In order to make short-term profits, starting in 2018, Mr. Cuong has raised chickens under the yellow camellia canopy. Currently, his family is raising about 1,200 chickens on an area of ​​2.5 hectares of yellow camellia.

To implement the model, Mr. Cuong carefully studied chicken breeds and raising techniques to keep the chickens healthy. After the chickens were 3 months old, he began to change the chickens' diet, letting the chickens out on the hill to graze under the yellow camellia canopy. To prevent diseases for the chickens, in addition to fully vaccinating the chickens, Mr. Cuong also regularly gave the chickens yellow camellia leaf water to drink about 1-2 times a week.

Double your profit from raising chickens under the canopy of yellow camellia flowers

Mr. Cuong said that raising chickens under the canopy of yellow camellia is much more effective, not only saving costs when raising chickens, but also saving costs on hiring workers to weed, till the soil, and fertilize, while the yellow camellia still grows well. Besides, raising chickens under the canopy of yellow camellia helps the flock to be healthier, less susceptible to diseases, and the quality of the meat is firmer and more delicious.

"A few years ago, raising even a hundred chickens at home was already hard work, especially cleaning the coop. Since raising chickens under the yellow camellia canopy, I have found it much more economically efficient. Raising chickens under the yellow camellia canopy is far from residential areas, so we can raise them in large numbers without fear of environmental pollution. When raising chickens under the yellow camellia canopy, the chickens can freely run around under the shade of the yellow camellia, finding more food in the wild. The yellow camellia garden also takes advantage of a certain amount of fertilizer from the chickens to grow well," Mr. Cuong shared.

According to Mr. Cuong, raising chickens on the farm takes only 2.5 to 3.5 months with a selling price of 60,000-80,000 VND/kg. Raising chickens under the canopy of yellow camellia requires a longer time, lasting from 6-9 months, with a selling price 2-3 times higher, and raising costs are also reduced by half compared to raising chickens normally.

During the holidays, a castrated chicken is sold at the lowest price of 160,000-180,000 VND/kg, while a hen costs from 150,000-160,000 VND/kg. After deducting expenses, each year the family earns a profit of 70-80 million VND from raising chickens under the canopy of yellow camellia flowers.

Mr. Cuong added that Ba Che soil is not only suitable for yellow tea flowers, but also very suitable for wild rattan. Not only the rattan stems and vines have economic value, but rattan fruits are also sold at very high prices, previously up to 450,000 VND/kg of rattan fruit. With 10 hectares of canarium, rattan, sa moc, acacia, pine, yellow tea flowers, cinnamon... each year his family has a revenue of about 500 - 700 million VND.

Mr. Trieu Van Dung - Vice Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Ba Che district commented that the model garden of Mr. Dam Van Cuong's family in Khe Long Ngoai village, Thanh Son commune, Ba Che district is one of the typical models that many local people come to visit and learn about.

Mr. Cuong is one of the people who contributed to the preservation and development of the yellow camellia tree - a precious plant in the locality. In addition, Mr. Cuong also regularly mobilizes and shares techniques for households to grow and develop yellow camellia trees, and raise chickens under the canopy of yellow camellia trees.

The Farmers' Association of Ba Che district, together with the locality, encouraged, supported and created conditions for Mr. Dam Van Cuong's family to plan and build a model garden, thereby creating conditions for members and farmers to visit and learn from the model.