Raising civets combined with... catfish, earning hundreds of millions in profit each year

Passionate about animal husbandry, after many years of designing and constructing mink cage systems, Mr. Le Van Son (58 years old, Hoai Nhon town, Binh Dinh) decided to invest in mink farming.

Mr. Son with a civet cage in Hoai Nhon town (Photo: Doan Cong)

Initially, Mr. Son only bought 3 breeding civets (1 male, 2 females) to raise, both to gain experience and to multiply the herd. However, civets are wild animals, and to raise them requires a license, so he had to invest in building cages and expanding the scale of the farm.

In early 2020, Mr. Son invested more than 200 million VND to cut down all the old coconut trees on an area of nearly 4,000 square meters to build barns.

He built two floating cages on concrete pillars, each 60 square meters wide, divided into 20 cages for raising civets above, and a pond for raising catfish below.

The civet cage is located above the catfish pond (Photo: Doan Cong).

"Catfish are omnivorous, so the leftover food and waste from the weasels are used by the fish. This method helps reduce food costs, at the same time, treats waste and prevents odors. In particular, when the catfish grow up, they will become the weasels' favorite food source," said Mr. Son.

Catfish pond below the civet cage (Photo: Doan Cong).

In addition, to make short-term profits, Mr. Son dug 10 tarpaulin-lined ponds to raise black apple snails. In the first crop, he released 100kg of black apple snails and 100,000 catfish fry in 10 ponds. Currently, just from selling snail meat and snail eggs, he has a daily income of 500,000 VND to 1 million VND.

Mr. Son raises black apple snails, which sell for a very good price, earning from 500,000 VND/day (Photo: Doan Cong).

By early January 2022, he invested nearly 200 million VND more to buy 10 adult civets (2 males, 8 females).

Thanks to his mastery of care and breeding techniques, after only 3 months of raising, he had nearly 40 baby minks. In 2022, he sold 26 breeding minks, earning more than 150 million VND. Currently, his family's herd of minks has over 60 minks.

Sharing his successful experience, Mr. Son affirmed that besides mastering the care techniques, the selection of breeds is very important. Males should have big heads, big faces, strong limbs, and clear genitals. Females should have long bodies, and their genitals and breasts should be even.

"Civets are quite easy to raise, but to grow well, they need a balanced diet. In particular, when the female civet shows signs of mating, the male stops eating and makes a mess... so I installed a camera for easy observation to arrange mating," said Mr. Son.

Mr. Ngo Van Trung, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Bong Son Ward, highly appreciated the model of raising civets, catfish, and black apple snails of Mr. Son's household.

"This is a new model and brings high economic efficiency to local farmers. In the coming time, the Association will continue to have capital sources to support Mr. Son to develop and expand the scale of the farm," said Mr. Trung.

Source link: https://dantri.com.vn/lao-dong-viec-lam/nuoi-chon-huong-ket-hop-voi-ca-tre-thu-lai-tram-trieu-moi-nam-20230802181359710.htm