Many rare chickens have been sold at extremely high prices and brought huge profits to farmers.

Nine-spur chicken

The nine-spur chicken mentioned in the legend of Son Tinh and Thuy Tinh has proved massively popular, especially in the run-up to Tet.

People in Xuan Son Commune, Phu Tho Province have raised the multiple-spur chickens for a long time. But they only became well-known 10 years ago when the routes to the commune were upgraded. Nine-spur chickens are still rare as most chickens only have six to eight spurs that cost VND300,000 per kilo. A nine-spur chicken can be sold at VND30m (USD1,300) to VND40m a kilo.

All the households in the commune raise chicken and have successfully escaped poverty.

Dong Tao chicken

Dong Tao chickens were only successfully bred a few years ago. This kind of chicken is a native of Dong Tao Village, Hung Yen Province. It has extremely thick legs with reddish scales and is an expensive delicacy in Vietnam. In the old times, Dong Tao chickens were only eaten by royals.

It's very difficult to raise Dong Tao chicken and people only started breeding more Dong Tao chicken due to its profitability. However, as supply has increased, their prices have decreased slightly to around VND5m (USD221) to VND15m a chicken. The chicken that is considered to have a beautiful form can fetch up to VND50m to VND60m. Each household can earn from VND150m to VND300m in profit a year.

Endangered chicken

Locals in Tien Phong Commune, Ha Nam Province are earning a huge sum of money for breeding and selling Mong chicken.

The bird has been added to the endangered list. In the past, this species was only raised in places where the Mong ethnic group resides. This species has black or brown-black feathers, with the skin, bones and inner organs are all black.

Tran Quoc Thang, vice chairman of Tien Phong Commune said their commune was the only place that had successfully bred Mong chicken. The Mong chickens are sold at VND180,000(USD8) to VND200,000 per kilo.

Faiyumi chicken

The Faiyumi is a breed of chicken originating in Egypt. It can lives well in different climates and is especially resistant to viral and bacterial infections. Their eggs are also favoured and easily sold. All households in Thanh Van Commune, Vinh Phuc Province raise this type of chicken.

Do Thi Dai, a farmer in Thanh Van Commune said she had 15,000 chickens and made VND10m (USD442) a day and was able to sell all of the eggs to traders. The smallest households raise from 4,000 to 6,000 chickens while those with huge farm can raise 50,000 chickens. Bui Quoc Viet, vice chairman of Thanh Van People's Council said some households could earn billions of VND.

Lac Thuy chicken

The Ri chickens in Lac Thuy District, Hoa Binh Province is becoming more well-known. Asides from the farms that raise chickens for eggs, many people also sell the chickens for breeding in other provinces.

According to the authorities of Lac Thuy District, they now have over 500,000 chickens. Many households have escaped poverty and made profits in the hundreds of millions each year.