Thanks to raising deer for antlers and selling breeding stock, many families in Ky Phu commune (Nho Quan district) have become much more prosperous.
The family of Mr. Do Van Luat, residing in Xanh village, Ky Phu commune, currently owns a herd of nearly 30 spotted deer, including over a dozen breeding females and the rest being males raised for antlers. Like many families in the area, in previous years, his family primarily cultivated crops and raised buffalo and cattle. However, due to limited livestock farming techniques and disease prevention, the scarcity of grass and feed for buffalo and cattle, and unstable product markets, economic efficiency was low. With determination and a desire to improve his family's economic situation, Mr. Luat always harbored the ambition to find new economic development opportunities for his family.
Through research on television and in newspapers, he learned about the highly effective model of raising spotted deer for antlers and realized this was a good opportunity to shift his economic development. Although the initial investment in breeding stock was high, these animals were easy to raise, had good resistance, and were less prone to disease. So he boldly switched from raising cattle and buffalo to raising deer.
To save costs, he renovated the former cattle shed into a deer enclosure, using wooden planks to divide it into small pens, each about 4-5 square meters wide and 4-5 meters high. 2-2.5m, to keep each deer individually. Initially, due to lack of experience, he bought poor-quality breeding stock and had limited care techniques, leading to many failed attempts. However, with his diligent nature, learning and gaining more knowledge and experience while raising deer, Mr. Luat built a successful breeding model. His family's deer herd is healthy, reproduces well, the total herd is increasing, and antlers are harvested regularly.
Mr. Luat shared: Deer are wild animals, so they easily adapt to climatic conditions. Their main food consists of leaves such as jackfruit leaves, starfruit leaves, fig leaves, mango leaves, elephant grass, and agricultural by -products. However, it is necessary to clean the enclosures regularly to prevent mold and bacteria that cause skin diseases in deer, and to prevent deer from eating moldy food that causes intestinal diseases. During the antler-growing stage, it is necessary to supplement their diet with high-starch feed to ensure the antlers reach the desired weight and fetch a good price. Male deer begin to yield antlers at 3-4 years old, with harvesting occurring every 7-8 months, yielding 500-1,000 grams per deer each time. Mr. Luat sells each kilogram of fresh deer antlers for 16-19 million VND.
Mr. Luat said that deer antlers are considered a valuable medicinal ingredient and are popular with consumers, so many customers come to his family to place orders. Besides raising male deer for antlers, Mr. Luat also breeds deer and supplies deer fawns at a price of 15-20 million VND per animal. According to Mr. Luat's calculations, with a herd of nearly 30 deer, selling both antlers and fawns to the market, he earns an income of 200-250 million VND per year.
The family of Ms. Dinh Thi Mui is also one of the households that have achieved a relatively good economic status thanks to the deer farming model. Ms. Dinh Thi Mui and her husband, Mr. Quach Van Thanh, are both Muong ethnic people from Xanh village, Ky Phu commune. In previous years, their family's economy was not well-off, relying on rice farming and raising buffalo and cattle. Since 2002, her family began experimenting with raising a pair of breeding deer. Later, she saved money to buy more breeding stock and expand the enclosures.
To date, Mrs. Mui's family farm has nearly 20 deer, including both antler-producing and breeding deer. Throughout the breeding process, she has always proactively sought out additional knowledge through books, newspapers, from experienced breeders, and by drawing on practical experience.
According to Ms. Mui, for breeding deer, it is necessary to choose tall, healthy, agile animals with bright eyes. Deer are animals accustomed to living in their natural environment, so when raising them in captivity, technical requirements must be followed, and they must be provided with sufficient food. In particular, they should not be kept together in the same enclosure because, due to their wild nature, they will butt heads when kept together, causing damage. Deer in the breeding and antler-producing periods need to be supplemented with foods rich in starch and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Thanks to their mastery of techniques, Mrs. Mui's family has successfully built a deer farming model. With an average selling price of 1.5 to 2 million VND per 100 grams of antlers, her family earns a stable income of 150-200 million VND per year. Mrs. Mui said that in the future, her family will continue to expand the farm and breed more deer to develop the herd.
From just a few initial households, Ky Phu commune now has over 40 households raising deer. Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan, Vice Chairman of the Ky Phu Commune People's Committee, stated: "This is a model of raising a specialty animal that yields significantly higher economic returns than traditional farming and animal husbandry. Recognizing the economic benefits of this model, in recent years the Ky Phu commune government has supported and facilitated access to it for many people. They also launched the 'Ky Phu Deer Breeding and Antler Harvesting Cooperative' with over 20 members. Currently, the total deer population in the commune is over 1,000. Many families have become more prosperous thanks to developing this deer farming model."
In the coming period, the commune will continue to promote and encourage livestock farmers to replicate the model to help people develop their economy, increase their income, and contribute to the local efforts in poverty reduction and building advanced and model new rural areas.
Text and photos: Thuy Lam
Source
Comment (0)