Bringing technology into Animal Husbandry

​

A chicken cold-coop farm in Cay Gao commune, Trang Bom district.

Disease – No more worrying

Constructed in 2007 with a total investment of more than VND 3 billion, Tran Thi Nga’s egg-laying hens farming (Tan Lap hamlet, Cay Gao commune) is considered the earliest and largest closed poultry farm in Trang Bom district. In addition to investing in cold coops, this farm also has a fully automatic temperature, light, feed, water, and egg harvesting system. Besides, the system of disinfectant spray and fecal treatment per hour is activated once every 10 minutes to prevent outside bacteria from entering the chicken flock, prevent odors arising from chicken feces. Currently, this farm has 40,000 chickens, an average of 35,000 eggs per day.

According to the Owner, from the time she switched to the model of cold-coop farming, the farm had never had bird flu and no odor had been released. “If all industrial chicken farms apply this model and the output market is stable, not only can farmers “live” with the flu, but consumers will also be assured of using safe products.” – said Ms. Tran Thi Nga.

Mr. Phan Van Tuoi, owner of 3 egg-laying hens farming with nearly 60,000 chickens in Song Trau commune, said that since he switched to cold farming, his family could "eat well, sleep well" in the face of influenza outbreaks, and in particular, he did not need to worry that the erratic weather would cause the chicken to die as much as before. According to Tuoi, the temperature in the farm is operated by induction heating. Depending on the age of hens, the farm manager will enter the appropriate temperature into the system, and the system will automatically increase the temperature when it rains or activate the cooling system when the surrounding temperature rises to ensure a stable internal temperature.

Mr. Tran Ba Loi (Tan Lap 2 hamlet, Cay Gao commune) shared that due to the breeding contract with an enterprise in the province, he bravely invested in the cold farm system. All breeds, food and technology are supported by such business. When selling, the business will pay him a wage depending on the weight of pigs.

“Previously I invested my own capital and effort, at the time of sale, if the pig got a great price, it would be very profitable; on the contrary, just a disease or pig's price dropped, I became a "debtor" of the bank. Since investing in cages and animal husbandry contracts with that businesse, the risk has greatly decreased. Especially, after this African swine fever, breeding under the model of closed pen and linking with enterprises helps farmers limit big losses due to disease and learn a lot of experiences.” – said Mr. Loi.

Large investment, high efficiency​

A chicken cold-coop farm in Cay Gao commune, Trang Bom district.

According to the farm owners, the initial investment cost for the cool coops according to the biosecurity standards is very high with 3 times more expensive than open coops, especially the ceiling, cooling system and sensors. However, if calculated adequately and in the long-term orientation, the cost of cold coops is lower than open coops and the efficiency of closed cages is much higher than that of open cages.

Mr. Phan Van Tuoi, a chicken farmer analyzed that, with the scale of 10,000 flocks of chicken, the initial investment for an open coops were about VND 200 million, but the life time is only 3 years and after this period, the coops must be rebuilt. Meanwhile, the cost of cold coops is about VND 700 million to 1 billion, the use time of 10-15 years. On average, assuming that the coop fee is equal each year, the cost of a closed coop may be even lower. Besides, closed coops with disinfection spraying system helps to prevent the environment from being polluted, limiting diseases.

Mr. Doan Xuan Truong, Head of Economic Division of Trang Bom district, said that the model of raising cold coops/cages (pigs, chickens, quails) has been applied by many households and farms in the area. Small-scale farms mostly invest in building cages, while some large farms cooperate with investment enterprises. Both of these 2 forms are bringing good profits to farmers, limiting disease risks and limiting environmental pollution.

Also according to Mr. Truong, Trang Bom district has been recognized as a disease free area for poultry. Particularly for cattle, after the African swine fever, 100% of the households and farms have to meet the biosecurity requirements of the breeding areas, which means investing in cold cages and closed livestock. In the case of households that do not meet the above requirements, they will not be granted a certificate of eligibility for breeding, and when an epidemic occurs, they will not be supported. “In the near future, the biosecurity regulations for animal husbandry areas will be tightened, the number of cold cages in the district will increase significantly. This is the basis for the district to form a biosafety breeding area.” – said Mr. Truong.

By Nam Vu