Free-range chickens become popular after 45 days: the price is more than 100 yuan each.

Free-range court chickens lead a "five-star" life

Grew up eating green vegetables, self-made feed, etc., and did not sell for more than 100 yuan each for six months

Morning Post reporter Li Baohua

A 45-day-old fast-growing chicken fed with large amounts of antibiotics and illegal drugs has recently been exposed by the media, causing many people to "smell the chicken color change." At a leisure farm in Datuan Town, Pudong New area, Han Gang, who resigned and joined the cause of raising chickens, is persistently continuing his dream of ecological agriculture: "all chickens insist on free breeding, feed is prepared by themselves, and Chinese herbal medicine is used to prevent disease. Each chicken has been kept for at least six months before it is sold. "

"at first, it was because my family and I had higher requirements for ingredients, but now the hope is to let more people eat real free-range chicken. "

Court chickens raised by natural ecological methods look for food in the orchard

The cost of free-range chicken is at least 60 yuan

Hangang's breeding base is located in the vicinity of Nantuan Highway in Pudong. Although it is already winter, the loquat trees and orange trees in the farm are still green, and under the trees are green vegetables. Bright-haired court yellow chickens are foraging in the orchard in twos and threes, and the green vegetables on several vegetable plots have been eaten with only part of the roots.

Looking at these chickens running around, Han Gang, who only started farming in his 50s, was very pleased: "A delicious free-range chicken has to live a 'five-star' life." The appearance of the Chinese court chicken raised by him is quite different from that of ordinary chickens. most Roosters have crowns on their heads and red sarcomatous falls under their jaws, but both Roosters and hens have a "beard" on their jaws and a pinch of hair on their feet, which is easy to identify.

Chinese court yellow chicken is an ancient chicken breed in China, which not only has a unique appearance, but also has fresh and tender meat. It was once a chicken for imperial meals in the imperial palace of the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, in September last year, Han Gang introduced the first batch of 1000 Chinese court yellow chickens and began to explore stocking under fruit trees. At the same time, some Luhua chickens were released to compare their growth rates. The palace yellow chicken enjoys the open space in the fruit forest, running around all day, pecking at grass and insects, with chicken feed accounting for only half of the food, and the rest is all natural food.

This natural and ecological way of raising chickens makes the growth of chickens slower. Han Gang said that when the Chinese court yellow chicken was raised for two months, it was only about 2 jin. After six months, the rooster could grow to about 4 jin and the hen about 3 jin. If you keep it like this for half a year, "the cost of a chicken for feed, labor, electricity and electricity is about 60 yuan, and it will be sold for more than 100 yuan each on the market, but some people will find it too expensive."

Han Gang's wife, Ms. Ni, is very supportive of her husband's career. "now healthy food has become a luxury." If you spend more than 100 yuan a month on a free-range chicken to eat with your family, the price should be acceptable. " Every time she cooks chicken soup for her family, Ms. Ni uses her own chicken, and now their chicken has a small reputation among relatives and friends.

Stick to your own chicken feed.

Although there is a lot of ready-made chicken feed on the market, Hangang still insists on making its own feed. "these are the feeds we have mixed, mainly corn (244, 700 and 0.29%) powder and rice bran, as well as some Chinese herbal medicine powder. After more than 20 hours of fermentation, it is beaten into particles and fed to the chicken, which is easy to absorb. " In the ingredients shed, Han Gang pointed to a nearby bag of Chinese herbal medicine and said: "there are Radix Isatidis, green leaves and pine needles, as well as some allicin, which can have a preventive effect when eaten in the feed." He said that because chickens can move around the orchard all day, have a good physique, and the Chinese herbal medicine in the feed can prevent disease, these chickens only need two injections to prevent bird flu and Newcastle disease (commonly known as chicken plague) for one year.

In addition to these feeds, the main food for these chickens is green vegetables and grass under the orchard. Every morning, feed them a small part of the feed, then drive them to the orchard to find their own food, and then give them a meal of feed when they go back to the henhouse in the evening. Han Gang said: "our land is divided into two large plots, which take turns to grow vegetables and grass. The chicken eats vegetables first, and only after the vegetables are finished can you eat grass. When the grass is finished, even the grass roots will be shaved off. You can eat it very well! "