Before technological breakthroughs allowed large-scale artificial hatching of chickens, Yunchao could only adopt the most primitive method of raising chickens and purchase hens in large quantities.
Let the hen lay eggs while letting the hen cuddle up.
Many people may not know that hen nesting is partially controllable.
Get a few nesting eggs, shut the hen in the nest to prevent it from running around, and make the environment darker. After a while, the hen may want to nest.
Of course, using this method to breed chickens is not only inefficient, but also has a certain impact on the hens.
During the nesting period, the hen not only cannot lay eggs, but also consumes physical energy, which is a kind of damage to the hen.
Fortunately, the chickens in the Dawu Dynasty were all native chickens, not the silly chickens artificially bred in later generations. They had good physiques, were quite enthusiastic about hatching eggs, and had a very high nesting rate.
Moreover, chicks led by hens are healthier and less likely to get sick. In ancient times without antibiotics, the survival rate was much higher than that of artificially hatched chicks.
The native chickens these days are all the kind that can climb a tree with just a flutter of their ribs. Their bodies are not generally healthy, and they are not stupid chickens that will rely on antibiotics to survive in future generations.
However, native chickens also have disadvantages for farmers.
The first disadvantage is that the growth rate is too slow.
Broiler chickens specially bred in later generations can be put on the market in as little as forty days.
At this time, the native chickens are caught and brought home in the spring. They are barely edible by August 15th and are almost fully grown by the end of the year.
The second is that it is small in size and has a low meat yield.
Apart from the good taste and being less likely to get sick, there are really not many advantages to native chicken.
I heard that Yunchao wanted to collect chickens, and most of the people who raised chickens in the eight villages within ten miles sent their hens over.
There are certainly factors of flattery, but more of it is support for Yun Chao.
Of course, the price of cloud computing is also a key factor.
The purchase price is actually the same as the retail price in the city. Only a fool would not sell it.
To Yun Chao's expectation, there were quite a lot of people raising chickens.
I had never done any special investigation before, but I didn't expect that just two towns, Sanshui Town and Woniu Town, as well as the villages below, would send thousands of hens.
It’s not that no one will raise chickens if they don’t have enough to eat.
Chicken butts are the treasury of many ordinary people.
In the Dawu Dynasty, where commerce was backward, barter was still used in many places among the people.
For example, eggs are exchanged for grain, needles, threads, salt, cloth, etc.
Otherwise, if the people are so poor and have no money, how can they buy the necessities of life?
This situation is similar to that of Yun Chao's previous life in the 1960s and 1970s. Social development is often one cycle after another.
If it hadn't been for the rapid advancement of science and technology in later generations, which would last for thousands of years, the living conditions of ordinary people would probably not be much different.
It would be easier if we had chickens.
It’s time to lay eggs.
The nest should be nestled.
Of course, you can't just have hens, you also need a certain number of roosters, otherwise the eggs you lay will not hatch out chicks.
The raising methods used by Yun Chao were different from those of later generations of chicken farms.
Belongs to semi-free range.
There is no way, if the hens are not allowed to move, they will get sick easily.
Once a malignant infectious disease occurs in something like chicken, it is very likely that the land will be completely white and clean.
As the saying goes, if a family has a lot of wealth, it does not include those with fur.
Yunchao would rather lose some of his profits, but also try his best to ensure that there are no problems.
Fortunately, there is plenty of space, so the hens won't be able to escape.
In addition to collecting chickens, Yunchao also collected many ducks.
In addition, Yunchao also collected some big geese.
Geese can lay eggs and eat meat.
However, they also have a more important role, which is to guard chickens and ducks from predators.
These days, the ecological environment is not generally good.
There are eagles in the sky, foxes, weasels, and giant worms on the ground. Even mice are so big and thick that it is not difficult at all to pick up a few chicks and eat them.
Old farmers are not in ordinary difficulties. The cost of farming is inherently low, and if they are troubled by thieves such as sparrows and voles, sometimes they will not be able to get much food even if they are busy for a year.
Breeding is not safe, and it is easy to get sick. Just dealing with those "thieves" is enough to give people a headache.
Not to mention chickens and ducks, even raised pigs and sheep are often snatched away by predators such as wild wolves.
There are even cases of babies being carried up to the sky by eagles.
But ordinary people who are more considerate will not leave babies alone in the open air.
After Yun Chao started hunting in Beishan, fewer large beasts came down to cause trouble.
However, there are not many eagles in the sky and mice and weasels on the ground. If we don't get some geese to watch, there are not enough chickens and ducks to cause them trouble.
Things like geese give many people the impression that they are stupid.
When he walks swaying, he looks like a big stupid goose.
In fact, geese are very easy to use. Not only can they watch over the house like a dog, but they can also watch over the chickens and ducks in the house, preventing them from getting into trouble and preventing them from laying eggs randomly.
Especially ducks.
Under normal circumstances, the ducks raised at home are collected at night and put into the river to forage during the day.
Domestic ducks have been raised by humans for a long time and have basically developed the habit of laying eggs in their nests at night.
However, there are also a few ducks who do not know whether they are disobedient or have a disordered biological clock. They do not lay eggs at home at night, but go to the waterside to lay eggs during the day.
This is troublesome. People are very busy. Who has time to follow ducks to the waterside to find eggs every day?
The duck eggs that fall to the water's edge are often wasted.
If there are big geese with them, this phenomenon will be much less.
In addition, thieves such as weasels and snakes are very afraid of geese. Generally, they will stay away from places where geese are present.
According to folklore, if these things are stained with goose feces, the body will rot. I don’t know whether it is true or not.
Now that chickens, ducks and geese have been raised, pigs must also be raised. First, we will collect a few hundred piglets and raise them.
This time, Yunchao plans to do the breeding himself first, and is not ready to let the common people participate yet.
At this stage, the families under Yun Chao's rule are still too fragile.
Most of them have just solved the problem of food. Let alone being well-off, they cannot even guarantee food and clothing.
In this case, the family's ability to resist risks is very weak. If it fails, the family will go bankrupt.
Yunchao is ready to really let everyone see the benefits. After summing up a set of mature experience, it will not be too late to let everyone join.
…
Just as Yunchao was vigorously developing his side business, large waterwheels on both sides of Wolong Valley were also erected one after another.
Along with the construction of the large waterwheel, irrigation canals extended their tentacles to every corner of the farmland on both sides of the bank.
Seeing the clear river water flowing continuously into the dry land, even the villagers who have not rented Yunchao's fields are laughing so hard that they can't even see their eyes.
They believe that as long as they follow Yun Chao well, they will have their own land sooner or later!
