We visited Mr. Nguyen Van Hoan's family in Son Long village, Quynh Lap commune, looking at the herd of sika deer growing well, we could clearly see the joy on his face. His family started raising deer again in 2010. He renovated the garden land to grow elephant grass, built solid barns, divided into 4m2 cells to raise each deer separately. He said that deer are wild animals but easy to raise, have good resistance, and are rarely affected by diseases. The barns are regularly cleaned, kept warm in winter and provided with enough food. The food of sika deer is mainly fig leaves, neem leaves, elephant grass and agricultural by-products. He feeds the deer twice a day, morning and afternoon.
During the antler-growing or reproductive stage, the owner needs to supplement the deer with foods high in starch such as corn, soybeans, and elephant grass grown by the family around the garden. Compared to other animals, sika deer bring higher income. Currently, his family's deer herd has 4 male deer for antlers and 7 female deer for reproduction. In addition to selling fresh deer antlers, Mr. Hoan also breeds and lets the deer reproduce to sell the offspring. After 3-4 months, the deer can be sold for 25-30 million VND/animal. Each year, the deer herd brings in an average income of 130 million VND/year. For a family in the countryside, this is a good income, helping the couple have a stable life.
For the family of Ms. Le Thi Buoi in Tan Thanh village, Quynh Lap commune, raising sika deer for velvet has helped her family to raise 4 children to complete their studies. In recent years, thanks to effective output connections, deer raising has become the family's main source of income.
Sharing her experience in caring for deer, she said that deer often have some diseases such as anthrax, intestinal diseases..., breeders must rely on experience and characteristics of the disease to choose the appropriate medicine. With a herd of 13 deer, including 5 female deer for breeding and 8 male deer for velvet, she has an income of about 150 million VND/year.
Currently, in Quynh Lap commune, a deer breeding association has been established in Son Long and Tan Thanh hamlets, with 15 members and a total herd of over 200 deer. According to deer breeders, male deer will start to have antlers in the second year, and female deer will start to reproduce at 2 years old. On average, each batch, 1 deer gives about 0.6 - 0.8 kg of antlers, and on average, the antlers can be cut twice a year. The current price of deer antlers ranges from 10-12 million VND/kg, and the price of breeding deer is 25-30 million VND/animal. In particular, quality breeding deer are sold to many places inside and outside the town.
Mr. Truong Cong Vu - Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Quynh Lap Commune said: The model of raising spotted deer for velvet antlers is currently a model that brings quite high economic efficiency, contributing to diversifying local industries. To promptly support this model, the Nghe An Provincial Farmers' Support Fund has disbursed capital to 10 households raising deer with loans totaling 500 million VND.
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