Large-scale VietGAP standard black chicken egg production farm in Nghe An

Choose your own path

Born and raised in the poor countryside of Nghi Loc, unlike many of his peers, after finishing high school, Nguyen Huu Thang (born in 1992) decided to start a career in Nghi Van (now Van Kieu commune).

His life is closely tied to the fields, so when he had the idea of starting a business, Thang only thought about choosing breeds to raise. However, farming , especially large-scale farming, is more difficult than Thang thought. In the beginning, his farm failed more than it succeeded.

Egg laying hen cage — Egg-laying black chickens are raised in cages, and the eggs are collected after they are laid. Photo: Nguyen Hai

However, the valuable thing is that after each failure, Nguyen Huu Thang did not get discouraged. In 2020, by chance participating in an agricultural extension program, he paid special attention to the unique black chicken egg production model in Long An . Regardless of the distance, Thang went there to learn from the experience.

The challenge is that the Silkie chicken breed is exclusively provided by one production facility in Long An province. The chickens have difficulty adapting to the northern climate and must have a standard farm to raise them.

Realizing this difficulty, Thang returned to discuss with his family and then rented land, borrowed nearly 1 billion VND to build a barn. Since 2021, Thang has imported nearly 10,000 breeding chickens to raise and incubate. After spending billions of VND to build a barn and for more than 5 months raising reserve chickens, Thang and his wife lived in suspense and only breathed a sigh of relief when the chickens were put in cages and started laying eggs.

Veterinary engineer — Nguyen Huu Thang - the first person on the left - talks with an engineer about the farm. Photo: Nguyen Hai

The first batch of chickens had a 95% egg-laying rate. After deducting expenses, the profit was about 150 million VND. Thang and his wife were excited and mobilized more funds from their families to build more barns. Since then, Thang has imported over 10,000 chickens each year to replace them. Most recently, to prepare for the upcoming Tet holiday, Thang imported an additional 13,000 black chickens from Tien Giang .

After more than 4 years of working, Nguyen Huu Thang has mastered the characteristics and habits of each batch of chickens, feeding times as well as necessary vaccines...

Chilean South American Chicken — South American black chickens are yellow and weigh more than black chickens in the South. Photo: Nguyen Hai

Currently, the farm of Thang and Linh couple has an area of nearly 3 hectares, including 2 barns raising 35,000 chickens, including 20,000 laying hens and 13,000 chicks for rearing. In addition to 4 workers, the farm often has 2-3 veterinary engineers, preparing support food sources and the young owner has more time to worry about product output.

Building a reputable brand

The nature of raising black chickens in concentrated areas requires strict sanitation conditions in the barn. In particular, the water system and cooling fans in the barn, and drinking water for the chickens all have their own systems and are collected and treated in a circular manner.

Mr. Thanh - a veterinary engineer at the farm said: Drinking water for chickens in cages goes through a separate system, leading to each tray according to the automatic valve setting mode. If the water for chickens falls, it will fall into a trough to be collected at one point, not overflowing onto the floor, so the coop is always dry. Periodically, chicken waste is purchased by agricultural cooperatives and large agricultural companies to fertilize tea, plant fruit trees, plant forests, etc. Therefore, despite the large scale of farming, the farm is quite airy and odorless.

Litter of pullets — The newly imported batch of over 13,000 black-broiled chickens are regularly monitored. Photo: Nguyen Hai

To maintain stable development, right after establishing the farm, Nguyen Huu Thang invited consultants on the process of producing chicken eggs according to VietGAP standards; at the same time, he hired a unit to design a brand to send to the Department of Intellectual Property, actively building a profile according to OCOP standards... Thanks to that, after only 5 years of establishment, Thang Linh farm achieved 3-star OCOP standards in January 2022; by May 2023, the Department of Intellectual Property recognized the product brand; in early 2025, it was inspected and recognized to meet VietGAP standards for the second time.

Nguyen Huu Thang said: Although we have a foothold, like other small-scale farms, disease and output are always constant concerns. Recently, right after the news of fake eggs on the market, the price of eggs dropped sharply; to maintain our reputation, each shipment, the farm must include documents proving the origin and quality.

Win software introduction — Monitoring the temperature of the chicken coop is controlled by a phone application. Photo: Nguyen Hai

The young owner added that the exploitation cycle is about 11 months, in which the first 5 months of raising the reserve have to accept the expenses but have no revenue. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate the time to import the breed so that when the hens lay eggs, they "meet" the right time when the market has demand.

Currently, each day, the cost of chicken feed alone is about 20 million VND, while egg revenue is only about 30 million (10,000 eggs), so if the eggs are unsold or sold at low prices, there is concern.

To adapt, on the one hand, Nguyen Huu Thang also raises black chickens for meat; at the same time, he bought 1,000 South American egg-laying chickens to raise on a trial basis from the beginning of 2025. After 5 months, the chickens laid eggs and the price was double the price of black chicken eggs. It is expected that if effective, they will expand further.

South American Chicken — Hybrid and purebred South American chickens are being raised at Thang Linh farm. Photo by Nguyen Hai

A representative of the Nghi Loc Regional Agricultural Service Center said: To create a monopoly position like today, along with investing in facilities, Thang Linh farm has worked hard to learn and find markets. The farm owner has successfully brought eggs to supermarkets and markets in Hanoi, almost any facility in Nghe An that has a need, Thang - Linh couple will come to introduce and drop off samples.

From his experience in finding output, Nguyen Huu Thang realized that to become a food supplier for large units and customers, he must have a quality profile, a reputable brand; the production process must be transparent and safe...

Mr. Tran Van Sao - Chairman of Van Kieu Commune People's Committee said: Among the hill garden economic models of the commune, Thang Linh egg-laying black chicken farm is a large and effective model because of its uniqueness. Each year, the farm produces about 4 million eggs, contributing to making Van Kieu a bright spot in the province's farm economy. In addition to actively developing the economy, the family also enthusiastically contributes to the community, supporting tens of millions of VND each year to help people in difficulty in the area.

Choose your own path

Building a reputable brand

Comment (0)