Raising pink-cheeked guinea pigs brings farmers billions of dong every year.

With proper investment from the beginning, the Nguyen Linh guinea pig farm (Hamlet 10, Xuan Dong Commune, Dong Nai Province), owned by Ms. Nguyen Dieu Linh, is becoming a typical model for breeding guinea pigs, bringing high economic efficiency, stable income, and a sustainable path for household economic development.

The enclosures at Nguyen Linh's guinea pig farm (Hamlet 10, Xuan Dong Commune, Dong Nai Province) are built into separate pens, meticulously recording increases and decreases in the herd.

Taking advantage of the ample land available, and after researching and realizing that raising bamboo rats wasn't too difficult, in 2023, Ms. Nguyen Dieu Linh decided to invest in a farm with a total area of ​​approximately 400 m2 to raise pink-cheeked bamboo rats. Instead of focusing on selling bamboo rats as a commercial product, Ms. Linh chose to focus on breeding stock, a small but sustainable market.

The farm is equipped with two separate areas: a breeding area and an area for caring for young guinea pigs. The cages are built as individual enclosures, protected from the heat in the summer, and kept clean.

On average, guinea pigs only need to be fed twice a day, each time with a piece of sugarcane or bamboo.

Initially, she decided to try her hand at raising 20 breeding bamboo rats, at a total cost of over 130 million VND. Although they are easy to raise, losses were unavoidable in her first attempt. However, not giving up, Ms. Linh continued to research and learn, gradually developing a standardized process for caring for breeding bamboo rats.

According to Ms. Linh, after more than two years of raising these rodents, her farm has now grown to nearly 400 bamboo rats, including 200 breeding rats and 200 young rats. The young rats are cared for and used to supply breeding stock to bamboo rat farms in Dong Nai province and other southern provinces.

The bamboo rats at Nguyen Linh Bamboo Rat Farm (Hamlet 10, Xuan Dong Commune, Dong Nai Province) have complete legal documentation proving their origin as breeding stock.

On average, a pair of baby bamboo rats costs between 3,000,000 and 6,000,000 VND, while breeding pairs of bamboo rats for reproduction cost between 9,000,000 and 10,000,000 VND. Each female bamboo rat can give birth to about 10 offspring per year, therefore, the population grows rapidly, providing a good income for breeders.

To proactively secure a food source for the bamboo rats, the family utilized their garden area to grow bamboo, sugarcane, and corn, ensuring a clean and stable food supply and reducing reliance on commercially purchased feed, which may have quality issues. Thanks to this well-controlled food source, the bamboo rat herd thrives, reproduction and raising go smoothly, and the mortality rate of offspring is reduced.

A single bamboo rat can reach a weight of approximately 6 kg.

"Their diet is very simple, mainly consisting of bamboo, sugarcane, and corn. They only need to be fed twice a day, one piece of sugarcane or bamboo each time. Importantly, they don't drink water, so they are quite clean. In addition, to proactively prevent diseases, especially intestinal diseases, their diet is supplemented with some herbs," said Ms. Nguyen Dieu Linh.

Besides developing her family's economy , Ms. Nguyen Dieu Linh also supports the transfer of breeding stock and farming techniques for bamboo rats to many people in and outside the locality. Mr. Tran Van Tien (residing in Xuan Dong commune) said that his family received technical support from Ms. Linh on caring for bamboo rats, so they boldly invested in two breeding pairs of bamboo rats. To date, one mother bamboo rat has given birth to four offspring, and Nguyen Linh's bamboo rat farm guarantees the purchase of the finished product. This has initially brought a good income to the family.

A female bamboo rat has just given birth to 5 offspring.

According to Mr. Phan Ngoc Ky, a forest ranger from Forest Ranger Station Area 2, Dong Nai Provincial Forest Protection Department, Nguyen Linh's bamboo rat farm is considered a typical breeding farm in the area. The farm's facilities are built to standard specifications, ensuring environmental and hygiene requirements are met, and are located far from residential areas, minimizing impact on the lives of surrounding residents. The bamboo rats have complete legal documentation proving their origin. During the breeding process, the farm owner maintains complete records tracking the increase and decrease of the herd in accordance with regulations from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment .

Newborn baby guinea pigs are being prepared for separation from the group and sale as breeding stock.

Mr. Phan Ngoc Ky assessed that the current model of raising bamboo rats is yielding quite good economic results. In the future, the Forest Protection Department will continue to support and guide people in completing legal procedures and complying with regulations in raising bamboo rats as well as other wild animals.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/nuoi-dui-ma-dao-nong-dan-thu-tien-ty-moi-nam-20260131095320506.htm