VietNamNet Bridge – Normally, people keep ornamental fish and birds as pets but recently, raising ornamental chickens has become trendy.

Ornamental chicken breeder Tran Cong Manh and his chicken farm

Unlike those who raise chickens for meat and eggs, people who keep chickens as pets have to make much more effort and spend more money on taking care of the health and posture of their ornamental chickens.

Nguyen Thanh Phong, an ornamental chicken raiser in HCMC’s District 12, says he has spent some US$1,000 buying a Serama chicken imported from Malaysia and that more than VND10 million (US$468) is needed for feed and for hiring skilled people to shape the chicken in the standard form.

Phong’s chicken is twice as big as a dove but has an authoritative walking style with its head held high and its chest protruded. Apart from its flashy appearance, the chicken can also make some impressive moves such as turning over, going backwards or cooing when Phong gives his hand signals, making it worth hundreds of normal chickens raised for meat and eggs.

Serama chickens imported into Vietnam are not purebred and sold at VND10-15 million per chicken. This chicken species now has become a favorite of young Vietnamese people, according to Phong.

In order to keep an ornamental chicken as pet, raisers need time and effort to spruce up its feather, shape its body and pull its legs for half an hour twice a day. Some ornamental chicken lovers even let their pets sleep in the same room and eat on the same table to make them friendly to humans.

“Normal chickens will run away when we come closer but this type of chicken will run towards us with only one hand flip. When the chickens have become more daring and closer to humans, we can take it for a walk in a park, a coffee shop or other public places without worrying that it may be terrified,” Phong says.

Another chicken player identified as Thanh in District 12 says imported ornamental chickens are not easy to grow in Vietnam due to different climate conditions. Therefore, to keep them as pet, local chicken breeders should be knowledgeable about the characteristics of each ornamental chicken species and the caring techniques. Last but not least, they should have the passion for raising them and keeping them as pets.

Other pets include Phoenix and Rosecomb chickens imported from Thailand, Japan, Malaysia and Italy. Those who want to save their budget will choose Vietnamese chickens such as tre and Tan Chau, which are purebred and easy to grow.

Vietnamese ornamental chickens are still worth dozens of millions of dong as long as they have a flashy posture and a strong voice, says Thanh.

Given the increasing demand for raising imported ornamental chickens, some people breed those imported chicken species themselves and distribute them on local market.

Tran Cong Manh, an ornamental chicken breeder in Binh Tan District, said it is unreasonable when Vietnamese chicken players can crossbreed foreign ornamental chicken species but have to pay a high price for dealers to buy imported chickens.

Having raised ornamental chickens for seven years, Manh can crossbreed Serema, Phoenix and Rosecomb chicken species in Vietnam to provide for local enthusiasts.

Binh, another chicken breeder in Hoc Mon District, says crossbreeding foreign ornamental chicken species has helped him earn high revenue and for him this is a professional job.

SGT