Raising 'specialty' animals earns nearly 4 billion VND per year

Mr. Nguyen Van Chuc, 50 years old, raises more than 1,000 weasels, bamboo rats, and dons, each year giving birth to 8,000-9,000 babies, after deducting expenses, he earns nearly 4 billion VND in profit.

Working in construction, during a business trip to the Northwest more than 9 years ago, Mr. Chuc had the chance to eat delicious bamboo rat meat, so he learned about this wild animal farming model. Initially, he bought 10 pairs of bamboo rat breeds from Hanoi to experiment. After more than a year, the bamboo rat herd grew steadily and reproduced well, so he bought more civets, civets, and don breeds to raise and increase the herd. Up to now, his farm is about 1,000 m2 wide, located along Highway 91B, Binh Thuy District, with more than 1,000 breeding animals.

Mr. Chuc's specialty wild animal farm in Can Tho . Photo: An Binh

The herd of specialty animals grew day by day, bringing in a good income, so he decided to expand the farm and add branches in Dong Nai and the West. Of which, the farm in Can Tho, which has been open for nearly a year and a half, has been inspected and given a code by the authorities.

The farm is divided into two separate areas: the rearing area and the breeding area. The breeding area must be kept absolutely quiet. "If there is a loud noise, it will scare the mother during the breeding process and the young ones, causing them to stop eating and sleeping...", Mr. Chuc said.

Currently, Mr. Chuc's farm has 5 types of specialty animals: weasels, civets, peach-cheeked bamboo rats, bamboo rats and don. On average, each type has about 150 females and 50 males of reproductive age. The farm is divided into tiled cells of about 0.5 m2 for bamboo rats and iron cages of about 0.7-1 m2 for weasels and don.

According to Mr. Chuc, when separated from the herd, civets and ferrets weigh 500-700 grams; after one year of raising, they can reach 3-5 kg ​​and a maximum weight of 6-9 kg after three years. At about one year old, females can reproduce, two litters per year, 6-10 children. Don weigh a maximum of 3-4 kg, with a reproductive cycle similar to that of weasels. Meanwhile, bamboo rats raised for one year can reach 2.5-5 kg ​​each and begin to reproduce. Female bamboo rats give birth three times per year with a quantity of 9-15 children.

Peach-cheeked bamboo rats weigh 3-4 kg each at Mr. Chuc's farm. Photo: An Binh

"The food source for this herd of animals is quite simple and low cost, from 1,500-5,000 VND per animal per day," said Mr. Chuc, adding that the farm only needs two people to look after them, taking care of them for 4 hours a day in the morning and afternoon. The bamboo rats' food is bamboo, sugarcane and corn. The weasels eat fruits: bananas, papaya, dragon fruit... in the morning, supplemented with chicken porridge and fish porridge in the afternoon. The don also eats ripe bananas, plus sweet potatoes and cabbage.

Mr. Chuc is selling 3-7 month old civets and civet cats for 10-20 million VND per pair. Parent civet cats about to give birth to their second litter cost 25-35 million VND per pair. Breeding don cats cost 8-16 million VND per pair and 22 million VND for parent don cats about to give birth to their second litter. Similarly, breeding bamboo rats cost 1.5-8 million VND per pair; parents about to give birth to their second litter cost 3.5-12 million VND per pair.

"When leaving the farm with the farm's certificate of origin, we sign a 5-year contract, as well as provide technical guidance on raising the animals," said the farm owner, adding that the price of civets and mink is 1.8-2.1 million VND per kg, don 1.4-1.8 kg; peach-cheeked rats and moles are 0.5-1 million VND per kg. Currently, Mr. Chuc earns more than 5 billion VND per year, after deducting expenses, the profit is nearly 4 billion VND.

Ms. Tran Thi Thien Thu, Vice President of Can Tho City Farmers' Association, said that establishing a farm to supply breeds and meat of animals such as bamboo rats, mink, weasels, etc. is a new model that many farmers in the West are interested in.

It is safe and ensures output for farm owners to provide seeds with clear traceability and sign a 5-year contract with farmers to purchase products. "The City Farmers' Association will consider and organize connections for local farmers to participate in this closed chain model, increasing income," said Ms. Thu.

Vnexpress.net