Specialty chickens eat herbs, listen to music, and lay nutrient-rich eggs

A mutually beneficial orchard-livestock model

Vu Van Thanh, a farmer from Ban hamlet (Muong Thang commune, Phu Tho province), is raising nearly 3,000 specialty chickens from two prized breeds: 1,500 H'Mong black chickens and 1,400 Tien Yen chickens. What makes his farm stand out is the meticulous and unconventional way he raises them.

Formerly working in tourism, Thanh first visited the Muong region three years ago and was captivated by its peaceful landscape. He decided to leave city life behind and pursue his long-held dream of building a slow, tranquil life in the countryside. With a modest investment, he purchased a 3,000-square-meter orchard that had previously grown oranges and pomelos.

Restoring the exhausted land proved to be his first major challenge. After patiently learning from organic farmers in Cao Phong and studying agricultural techniques through books, newspapers, and other resources, he began rehabilitating the soil.

"At first, the soil surface was so compacted that water simply ran off instead of soaking in. When I dug into it, there was no humus layer, showing the soil had lost most of its organic matter. I couldn't even find a single earthworm," Thanh recalled. "I knew the soil needed to regain its organic content."

Restoring soil health would take years rather than months. To create a sustainable cycle, he chose to raise chickens first so their manure could be used as organic fertilizer. After two years of persistence, the orchard gradually recovered, with healthy greenery returning. Thanh prioritized biological fertilizers and eco-friendly crop protection products while minimizing chemical use. By the second harvest season after restoration, his orange and pomelo trees were producing fruit again.

Chickens listen to music, eat medicinal herbs, and lay herbal eggs

What began as a way to generate organic fertilizer leisurely soon turned into a passion for agriculture. After two years of raising broiler chickens to improve his orchard, Thanh shifted toward producing herbal eggs as a long-term business.

Some decades ago, Cao Phong was one of Vietnam's major citrus-growing regions, famous for oranges, pomelos, and mandarins. However, rapid expansion eventually led to declining soil quality and widespread disease, forcing many growers to abandon their orchards.

Rather than relying solely on pomelos, Thanh transforms the restored orchard into a shaded free-range area for nearly 3,000 chickens. His current flock includes 1,500 five-month-old H'Mong black chickens, which are already marketable, although his main goal is egg production. The remaining 1,400 birds are Tien Yen chickens from Quang Ninh province, now three months old.

"I feed the chickens medicinal herbs to strengthen their immunity and improve the flavor and tenderness of the meat. Herbal eggs sell at a premium and offer higher nutritional value," Thanh said.

His feeding method incorporates finely chopped medicinal leaves traditionally known to have health benefits, including guava leaves, mugwort, wild betel leaves, dill, basil, and Vietnamese balm. Chickens are introduced to these ingredients from an early age, making them accustomed to the herbal diet. Rice bran, soybeans, and other feeds are stored on-site, while natural antimicrobial supplements are mixed into the feed to strengthen disease resistance before illnesses occur.

As Cao Phong's pomelo growers increasingly extract essential oils from pomelo leaves for herbal shampoo production, Thanh collects the leftover boiled leaf residue, which still contains some essential oils, chops it finely, and mixes it into the chickens' feed.

Inside the shaded orchard, chicken houses are built along the fence line and enclosed with mesh, allowing the birds to roam freely while providing shelter from rain and secure nesting areas.

"The 1,400 Tien Yen chickens are still too young to lay eggs. Of the 1,500 H'Mong black chickens, about two-thirds are hens that produce between 700 and 800 eggs each day," Thanh said. "All of these clean eggs are shipped to Hanoi, where demand is so strong that every batch is sold before long."

Late each afternoon, after collecting the final eggs from the hens, Thanh carefully packs the herbal eggs into trays for transport. Though relatively small, the eggs have distinctive green shells that are thick and strong because the hens are allowed to mature naturally rather than being forced into egg production.

"Herbal eggs have a rich, fragrant flavor," Thanh explained. "In the future, I want to develop eggs tailored to different age groups and nutritional needs. Older adults could benefit from eggs formulated with suitable levels of sugar, cholesterol, carbohydrates, lipids, protein, and DHA, while athletes and younger consumers could receive eggs with higher protein and other nutrients."

He believes such customized eggs can be produced by carefully adjusting the chickens' daily diets to influence the nutritional composition of the eggs.

Visitors to Thanh's farm often notice several speaker boxes mounted about half a meter above the ground and spaced around the orchard, all facing the chicken area.

Without waiting to be asked, Thanh walks to a small shelter, connects his phone to the sound system, and turns on the music. As the songs begin playing, the chickens briefly stop what they are doing to listen before calmly resuming their activities.

"I first started playing music simply because I enjoyed listening while working in the orchard," Thanh said. "One day I noticed the chickens also seemed to pay attention. After that, they became less restless, ran around less, and fought less, especially the young roosters."

Since then, he has played music for the flock every afternoon. "There hasn't been any scientific research proving this works," he admitted. "But I believe it definitely helps."

According to Thanh, the genre of music does not matter. "I just play whatever I like - old songs, pop music, even nonstop mixes. The chickens seem more relaxed after listening. Maybe, like people, they experience less stress," he said.

Thanh's innovative chicken-raising model has attracted growing interest from farmers in Muong Thang and neighboring Cao Phong. The integrated orchard-livestock system creates a closed production cycle in which chicken manure restores soil fertility, while fruit trees provide shade and natural forage for the flock. The approach also helps protect the environment. Despite housing nearly 3,000 mature chickens, the farm is notably free of unpleasant odors.