A successful model of “camel bird” farming

9/15/2017 - 10:10:26 AM

(HBO) - "Camel bird" is another name for an ostrich type that Phan Sy Hai and his wife Le Hai Yen raised in their farm at My village, Yen Mong commune, Hoa Binh city. Though they both have their own job, the couple took to raising this ostrich species in the hope of improving their income.

The ostrich farm of Le Hai Yen and her husband in My village, Yen Mong commune, Hoa Binh city generates a stable income of 100 – 150 million VND per year

In 2012, Yen’s family bought six ostriches weighing 5-7kg each at 2 million VND each. They then had to give up keeping the animals as they did not have enough land while their children were young at the time. Three years later, the couple spent over 30 million VND to lease a 1,000 sq.m land plot and raised 30 ostriches. Seeing that the birds grew well, required little care while adapting well to weather conditions and resisting to diseases, Yen and her husband gradually increased the flock to 60-100 heads, or even 200 in peak time. Currently, the farm has 120 birds for meat and six for egg laying.

Yen said: "My family raises ostriches mainly for meat and egg for sale. Female ostrich can lay eggs when they reach 18-20 months old, but due to the lack of incubators and technique, we now cannot hatch eggs to sell young birds. Therefore, we mainly raise the bird for meat.” Yen now sells ostrich meat to local restaurants and at Nghia Phuong and Tan Thanh markets. The prices of ostrich meat range from 100,000 – 250,000 VND per kg, 80-85,000 VND per kg for live bird and 250,000 – 280,000 VND per kg of ostrich meat pie. Each week, she sells two ostriches on Saturday and Sunday or more when consumers place order. During peak time such as New Year holiday or festivals, her farm sells four ostriches per day. With affordable prices and fresh quality, the meat is becoming popular.

Yen stressed that ostrich meat is organic, adding: "We feed the birds grass, water morning glory and water-fern. During the raising process, the feed must be mixed in correct ratio. When the birds are young, they should be fed with chicken feed, and when they are bigger, we use grass and maize powder. While cleaning the farm, all sharp, pointed and hard items must be removed to prevent the birds from eating them. I buy young birds during January – June, around 100 heads each time”.

Yen and her husband learnt how to raise ostriches from sellers or on the Internet. At the outset, they met a lot of difficulties. Yen said: "Apart from limited capital, a lack of experience worried us most. During transportation, many birds died along the way. Little ones died due to weak resistance to diseases while bigger ones died trampling upon each other. One time, I bought 12 ostriches but half of them died on the way”. Learning from such experience, she transported the young birds in small quantity at night in cool weather. The farm now earns her family a stable income of 100 – 150 million VND a year, contributing to improving their livelihood./.

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