As a "delicacy" on the dining table, local chicken has always been respected by people. At that time, many people in the city did not hesitate to drive hundreds of miles to taste the delicious taste of local chicken.
However, today's local chickens are like the big A stock market, which is gradually getting cold. Why is this and what is the business logic behind it?
Why can local chickens become "hard currency"?
Before answering these questions, let's talk about how the local chicken is "refined"?
According to the current statistics, there are a total of 81 species of local chickens in the mainland. For example, Xianju chicken in Zhejiang, Pudong chicken in Shanghai, and Qingyuan hemp chicken in Guangdong all belong to the category of local chicken.
In the vast Northeast region, this kind of native chicken is also called the little stupid chicken. The reason is that they are often timid and frightened, easily frightened, and a little wind and grass can scare the local chickens. It can be said that the local chicken can grow so big, completely relying on its own courage to spell out.
Of course, although native chickens are more likely to be frightened, they have a wide range of foraging. Due to the mixed diet of native chickens, materials such as leaves, grass seeds, sand, ants, insects and other materials can become their food.
In this case, the cost of free-range chickens in rural areas is relatively low. Generally, in front of the house and behind the house, in the orchard crop field, or under the trees in the forest, there are local chickens. Native chickens can make full use of these animals, plants and minerals to absorb the nutrients in them.
Because of this, local chicken is rich in a lot of natural fatty acids, and the meat is delicious and nutritious. In addition, local chickens are often exercised, so their muscles are more developed, and the taste of cooking is also firmer. If it is used to make soup, the butter gathers on the surface of the soup, and it is full of flavor. Especially the stewed pastoral old hen, which can be called a great supplement in the world.
It is precisely because of the benefits of local chickens that in the past few years, the local chicken market was extremely hot, and its price was several times that of broilers. Even so, local chickens are still in short supply. Every holiday and wedding celebration, the local chicken is used as a gift, adding to the relationship between relatives and friends.
It can be said that the local chicken was the "hard currency" at that time, no matter which region it was put in, it was a commodity that everyone loved.
The counterpart to the native chicken is the fast broiler. So what about these chickens?
Why is the local chicken market gradually sluggish?
Because the local chicken comes from the countryside, the meat is relatively delicious and nutritious. What about broilers, which are industrial products?
This kind of chicken generally needs to be raised on chicken farms, and it has to eat a lot of feed every day. Because the growing conditions are not as delicate and delicate as local chickens, the meat quality of broilers is generally relatively bland, and it cannot be flavored like local chickens, and the soup cooked is relatively light. Like the chicken in many fast food restaurants and fried chicken restaurants nowadays, it comes from fast broilers.
Of course, although broiler chicken is not as good as local chicken, its advantage is that it is big. An adult broiler can reach 2-4 kg, which is about 1.5 times the size of a native chicken, so broilers can well meet the market demand. As long as everyone wants to eat chicken, broiler chicken can make you eat in minutes.
It can be said that the relationship between broilers and local chickens is like the relationship between affordable products and luxury accessories. One focuses on the mass market, the other focuses on the high-end market, and the two sides do not interfere with each other.
However, judging from the current situation, the local chicken market is gradually in a state of slump. Nowadays, most people are not very willing to buy local chickens, so that many local chicken farmers have faced the situation of bankruptcy in recent years. Why? Aren't people keen on "high-end ingredients" these days?
The reason for this situation is mainly related to the following factors:
The first is the indiscriminate filling of local chickens. In today's chicken market, many chickens that are labeled as local chickens are essentially a broiler. Because as early as a few years ago, some farmers were driven by profits, they bought those cheap broiler chickens back, and then raised them as local chickens.
This kind of broiler chickens raised in the mountains grow much faster than local chickens. It only takes 2/3 of the growth cycle of the native chicken to be slaughtered quickly. In this way, farmers can make a lot of money.
Of course, the cost will have to be borne by the consumer. Many consumers obviously bought local chicken, but when they went home to cook it, they found that it was actually a broiler. When this situation occurs too much, consumers will gradually lose trust in local chickens.
The second is that there are too many black-hearted middlemen. In order to make a profit on the price difference, these middlemen buy local chickens from farmers at very low prices and sell them to consumers at high prices. In this way, it undoubtedly offends both parties.
Seeing that the purchase price was too low, the farmers gradually became reluctant to sell. Consumers see that the price is too high, how can they be willing to buy. In the long run, won't the local chicken market become more and more sluggish?
As for the third reason, it is because free-range chickens can't be rowed. After all, the breeding cycle of these free-range chickens is too long, and the size is not very large. In the case of extremely low production, it is natural that it cannot compete with broilers.
In the context of Internet +, how to revitalize the local chicken market?
As mentioned earlier, a key factor in the competition of local chickens for broilers is that the production of local chickens is too low. So how low is the production of local chickens?
Like most of today's local chickens, the size is generally only about 1-3 kilograms, which is 1/3 less meat than ordinary broilers. Don't look at this as only 1/3, if you multiply it by 1,000 or 10,000 chickens, the farmer's loss will be large. Therefore, under the premise that the output is not up to par, everyone is not very happy to breed local chickens.
What's more, the egg production of native chickens is also relatively small. Generally speaking, the annual egg production of local chickens is only 80-120, which is half of that of laying hens. If the temperature is low in winter, the local chickens will even stop laying eggs, which farmers call "winter break".
When these series of factors are superimposed, how can local chickens compete with other chickens? Once there is no profit drive, the farmers will naturally stop doing it. These are several important factors in the decline of the local chicken market.
Speaking of which, many people may ask, in this case, does that mean that you will never be able to eat local chicken in the future?
In fact, it is not so exaggerated, and now with the popularization of the Internet and online sales platforms, the problems encountered before have been solved accordingly.
For example, today's farmers can carry out online direct sales through platforms such as Pinxixi. Or use live webcasts to bring goods and sell your own products. In this way, most of the middlemen can be removed, and the perfect transaction experience of "one hand pays, one hand delivers" can be achieved for producers and consumers.
In addition, consumers can also score and evaluate merchants through these platforms, so as to avoid later consumers from falling into the pit. When the authentic brand of the merchant is made, there will be no bad phenomenon of broiler chicken passing off as local chicken.
As for the problem of low production of local chickens, it is not without solutions. Nowadays, many farmers who are willing to develop the local chicken industry have learned from the successful experience of those who have Xi come. And through the introduction of some modern scientific and technological means and management methods, to improve the breeding efficiency of local chickens.
For example, the local chicken breeding base in Tufenggou Village, Yangdian Town, Gansu Province, is a Xi template for many local chicken farmers. Countless local chicken farmers have learned from the experience of the farm's "understory chickens and ecological eggs" to raise those running pheasants one by one.
When the number of these free-range chickens gradually grows, it is not far from the dream of the local people to make a fortune.
In short, it is still the same sentence: "As long as the thinking does not slip, there are always more ways than difficulties." Guys, what do you think?