Dong Tao chicken has a healthy, red body supported by stout legs with reddish scales. (Photo: danviet.vn)

In recent years, poultry breeding has brought higher profits than raising other types of animals, with less time and effort. Many farmers have expanded their production, and animal husbandry production chains are being created.

As of last month, Hung Yen had approximately 6.7 million chickens among 9.6 million domestic fowl. Poultry raising by households with fewer than 300 fowl is decreasing, and the number of farms with 700 to 1,000 fowl is on the rise.

Chicken farming has become the main source of income for many farm households in Dong Tao village. 2,500 households raise more than 700,000 chickens for meat or as breeders, earning between 4,200 and 8,400 USD per year per household.  

Most participating farmers agree that raising Dong Tao chickens is more profitable than growing rice and a farmer can earn more than 40,000 USD a year – about 12,000 USD in profit.

To breed animals sustainably in line with the "One commune one product" program and the new-style rural building program, a new model for raising hybrid Dong Tao chickens organically was launched.

The model uses advanced techniques for raising hybrid chickens and using probiotics to treat waste to improve profitability and protect the environment. It was first implemented in April in three communes and one ward, which now have 8,000 hybrid Dong Tao chickens.

Participating households say that raising hybrid Dong Tao chickens organically has lots of benefits and advantages.

The chickens grow rapidly, withstand bad weather, and have few infections. Their survival rate exceeds 93%. After production costs, each chicken produces about 2 USD in profit – more than other chicken breeds.

Khac Chung, a Dong Tao chicken farmer in Hung Yen, said, “Raising this type of chicken is profitable. The best breeding techniques have been explained to us so we can apply the model uniformly.”

With the goal of building an organic agricultural production area based on selected farm products with competitive advantages, in March 2020 the Hung Yen administration approved a project to develop biosafe livestock farming in line with the VietGAP standards until 2025, with an orientation to 2030, that ensures food safety and environmental protection.

Under the project, Hung Yen is projected to have 10 or 11 million chickens by 2025, of which 55-60% are Dong Tao chickens or hybrid Dong Tao chickens.

“We’ve increased communication and promotion activities on digital platforms and closely coordinated with each other to help cooperatives and farms market their high-quality agricultural products,” said Nam.

In addition, the local administration has continued to diversify ways of reaching consumers nationwide. Online trading channels have been set up to directly connect businesses, cooperatives, and farms in Hung Yen and help them negotiate contracts.

In the past Dong Tao chickens were bred as a delicacy for kings. Today they are more widely bred but are still considered a Hung Yen delicacy that is appreciated by gourmets here and abroad.  And it is producing profits for local farmers.