Watch the clip of a startup, a young man in Kon Tum tried raising spotted deer, unexpectedly it sold well

After a period of learning about the profession of raising spotted deer for velvet, in early 2021, Mr. Quach Van Ha (born in 1987) in Te Rong village, Van Lem commune, decided to borrow 100 million VND from the Social Policy Bank through the commune Youth Union to build a barn and buy 3 spotted deer to raise.

Mr. Ha shared: I once watched a clip about starting a business from a model of raising spotted deer for velvet. Through that clip, I continued to learn and found that this model is very good, brings high economic efficiency, and is very suitable for developing the family economy. I decided to try raising it. Through the time of raising, I found that spotted deer are animals with good resistance, are omnivorous, and are easy to raise, so I am more determined to develop it until now.

Mr. Quach Van Ha is taking care of his family's deer herd. Photo: Y.D.

According to Mr. Ha, although raising sika deer requires a large investment, it is very easy to raise because deer have high resistance, are rarely sick, and have a diverse food source. They can grow grass or take advantage of available plants and fruits in the garden. However, because sika deer are domesticated wild animals, they have wild habits, so it is necessary to build a dry, clean, and airy barn. If cared for according to technical procedures and given enough food and water, the deer will grow and develop well.

A male deer raised from 9-10 months old will start to produce velvet antlers, after about 18 months old it will start to be exploited; female deer after 2 years old will start to reproduce. Adult male deer produce 0.7 - 1kg of velvet antlers per year and the average life span of a deer is 20 years.

Thanks to the good application of knowledge and techniques learned from documents, books and newspapers and the experience gained from reality, Mr. Ha's family's deer herd has grown well and now has 7 deer, with 3 males and 4 females reproducing.

Currently, Mr. Ha's family's deer herd has 2 male deer that are being exploited for velvet and have been exploited for 2 years, each year they harvest 1.5 kg of velvet with a selling price of 2 million VND/100g of fresh velvet, earning 30 million VND/year. Recently, his family has also sold 2 breeding deer, earning 48 million VND.

“Because the sika deer farming model is very new and sika deer products are always scarce, I don’t have to find an outlet for the products. People often come to order 1-2 months before harvesting antlers. I don’t even have enough antlers to supply to customers, so I have to make an appointment for the next batch,” Ha shared.

The success of Ha's family's deer antler farming model has opened up a new direction for economic development for local people. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Xenh - Chairman of the Veterans Association of Van Lem commune shared: We had the opportunity to visit Ha's deer farming model. Seeing that it has many prospects, we chose this model to deploy a pilot model to implement the Campaign "Changing the thinking and working methods of ethnic minorities, helping ethnic minorities to rise up and escape poverty sustainably".

Deer eat grass, trees, and agricultural by-products, so they almost don't have to spend money on food. Photo: Y.D

Accordingly, in early 2024, the Commune Veterans Association established the Cooperative Group "Ethnic Minority Veterans Association members raising deer for velvet", with 3 members who are ethnic minority veteran households from poor and near-poor households in Te Pen village. The model was implemented with a budget of 80 million VND supported by the District Veterans Association (from the fund for implementing the Campaign), to build barns and buy 3 breeding deer (1 male, 2 females).

The model is directly monitored, managed and guided by Mr. Xênh on care techniques. Through the time of directly caring for the sika deer, Ms. Y Rio - Head of the cooperative said: Since the day the deer were brought to the cooperative for care, I have been enthusiastically guided by the association's staff on techniques and feeding methods. Food for deer is very easy to find, I take advantage of banana trees, sweet potato leaves, jackfruit leaves, and elephant grass in the garden. I find raising deer is also very easy.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Xenh shared that in order to raise deer smoothly, he often comes to exchange and learn techniques and experiences from Mr. Quach Van Ha, then pass them on to the members of the cooperative.

“With the goal of developing production and increasing income for members and disadvantaged war veteran households in the area, in the coming time, we will continue to pay attention to and support the members of the cooperative to take good care of the deer herd, thereby raising the herd and expanding the scale. After that, we can cooperate with Ha's family to commercialize the product,” said Mr. Xênh.

It can be said that the model of raising spotted deer for velvet antlers is a suitable model, opening up a new direction for people in Van Lem commune to change the livestock structure, increase income, and actively contribute to the effort to sustainably reduce poverty in the locality.

Source: https://danviet.vn/xem-clip-khoi-nghiep-chang-trai-o-kon-tum-nuoi-thu-nghiem-huou-sao-ai-ngo-ban-dat-hang-20240821145900587.htm