In the countryside, raising livestock is a normal thing, the most common is raising chickens, ducks, pigs and the like. In particular, pig raising is almost a "side business" that every household in the countryside will do, build a pig pen on the side of each family, and buy some piglets to raise. There are also larger scales, as the "main business" to do, is to build a pig farm, specializing in raising pigs for sale.
Last year, because pig prices soared, we would all say that pig farmers "earned more". Of course, whether it is used as the main business or a side business, raising pigs is used to sell, after all, the Chinese people are still very good at eating pork. However, then again, in the past, cattle, donkeys, and horses were also common in the countryside, but now they are not common.
The reason is simple, in the past, rural people would raise cattle, donkeys, and horses, also because these livestock could work, such as cattle can plough the land, donkeys and horses can grind or pull goods. Therefore, at that time, even if it was raised, there were only 1-2 in the family, and there would be no more.
But now? These heavy jobs do not need cattle, donkeys, horses to do, now agricultural production is more mechanized, pulling goods also directly have special equipment, trucks, etc., relying on livestock to do farm work, the era has passed. For this reason, in the slightly more advanced rural areas now, cattle, donkeys, and horses cannot be seen, and if they are in some remote mountainous areas, they may still be able to see them!
However, since cattle, donkeys, horses and other livestock do not have to work, then directly raise and sell, like pigs to raise beef cattle, meat donkeys, is not the same money? Taking donkey breeding as an example, there is a saying that goes well: "Heavenly dragon meat, underground donkey meat", since people have given donkey meat such a good praise, is it not very valuable to sell donkey meat?
Moreover, many people now pay attention to health and like to eat ejiao (a rubber block made after donkey skin is soaked and dehaired), and authentic ejiao is sold invaluable. Some people say that raising donkeys well, when it is worth money, one head can sell tens of thousands, and the donkey skin is worth more than 2,000 yuan. Even if it is worse, donkey meat and donkey skins can be sold for thousands of pieces together.
Is a donkey really worth so much money? The previous market price is certainly different from now, but we can say why don't rural people go to raise donkeys now?
First, the feeding cycle is long and the cost of breeding is high.
Rural people like to raise pigs, that's because the pig breeding cycle is shorter, the pregnancy period of sows is only 4 months, and the piglets can grow to more than 100 pounds in 5-6 months. Animals such as chickens and ducks have a shorter feeding cycle.
However, if you raise a donkey, the gestation period of the female donkey is very long, and the cycle of breeding a donkey takes at least more than a year, during which it is necessary to eat and drink well, and the money will sell more. Therefore, if the farmers who are not particularly well-funded, they will not be able to raise a large number of meat donkeys, and the cost is too much.
Second, the market is not optimistic.
What kind of business is based on the market, although the donkey is almost a treasure, and the taste of donkey meat is also a must. However, in our daily lives, there are very few restaurants related to donkey meat except in a few areas. There are very few people who like to eat donkey meat, even fewer people drink donkey soup, and even many people reject donkey meat.
In contrast, meats such as pigs, cows, chickens, and ducks will be more popular. Therefore, since the market is like this, ordinary rural areas will certainly not breed meat donkeys in large quantities.
In summary, although donkey meat is delicious and expensive, it is expensive to breed, and there are few diners who love to eat donkey meat, so it is certainly not advisable to blindly follow the trend of breeding. Now even if you have donkeys in your family, you still want to raise them to do the work.