(VOVWORLD) - 44-year-old Huynh Thanh Hung of Tan Thanh commune, Ca Mau city, has been involved in farming since he was a child. Hung now owns a ferret farm which earns him a profit of 60,000 USD a year.
 Hung provides hundreds of ferrets for breeding and for meat every year 8 year. (Photo: VOV) |
After getting married Hung invested all of his money into raising fish and boars. As the income from this difficult work was unreliable, Hung decided to switch to some other animal.
In 2016, after a lot of research, Hung realized that ferrets were easy to raise because they required little care, and there was a high market demand for them. Hung sold off the boars and began raising ferrets.
Due to a lack of experience, his first batch of ferrets failed. Undeterred, Hung did some more research and achieved success in the following years.
“Raising ferrets and selling related products is easy. The way ferrets mate is special. You need to know when they’ve finished mating and separate them. If you do it the right way, it will increase productivity and generate more income,” said Hung.
Hung’s farm provides hundreds of ferrets for breeding and for meat every year. The price for a breeding ferret is 300 to 600 USD and ferret meat sells for about 60 USD a kilogram. Hung finds it difficult to keep up with the fast-growing market demand.
 (Photo: VOV) |
He says raising ferrets doesn’t require much space. And food for them, which includes bananas and fish, is readily available. After 8 to 10 months, ferrets are ready for breeding. After just 5 to 7 months a ferret can be sold for its meat.
“If the ferrets get a disease, we need to call in the vet. Ferrets are prone to two common diseases – diarrhea and swollen feet – which are likely to affect the whole farm,” said Hung.
Many local households have adopted Hung’s model, which has been integrated into the local poverty reduction program.
“Hung has worked with agencies in Ca Mau city to support the livelihood of poor farmers. He provides husbandry techniques to help them improve their productivity,” Ho Quoc Trang, Chairman of the Tan Thanh communal Farmers’ Union, said.
Hung has registered the Tan Thanh Ca Mau ferret brand and has set up a YouTube channel to share his ferret-raising techniques.