Wednesday, August 6, 2008
FATHER'S CHICKEN AND PIG FARM
Living in remote rural area with low family income, it was necessary to have supplementary income. Farming was a good option for villager. Pig and chicken farming was a norm around our areas. As we lived on farmland, we grew our own vegetable for self sustenance.
Drinking water was drawn from the well dug about 20 feet deep. Cooking was done on wood stove with firewoods, cut and collected from fallen trees. Kerosene lamp provided lighting at night. Life was simple, there was no radio or television. Although life for both my parents were tough, there was food on the table.
Pig Farming
I can remember very vaguely my father’s pig farm. I remembered there was a pigsty about 100 feet in front of my house. Behind the sty was a smelly and small pond dug to collect the pig excrement, which in turn was used as fertilizer for vegetable farming. Such eco-system was a norm in the village. Something that I always remembered was a man, one-eye jack who use to walk his boar around the village to provide mating service for pig farmers. He was a short dark man who wore no shirt. I was too young to understand what was going on then.
Apparently my father was not too lucky with pig farming. A swine fever wiped off his stock and he ended up owing the animal feed shopkeeper some money for the fodders, which was taken on credit. Those days, creditability was based on trust. Once the pigs were sold, it's unwritten rule you settle the credit provided. The shopkeeper gave him time to repay his debts. Of course, father repaid all his debts eventually. The same shop keeper also provided groceries services. His delivery man will bring all our ordered supplies on the back of his bicycles. I always remembered he was hounded by my dogs at every delivery.
Chicken Farming
My father and mother were very involved in chicken and pig farming. We had one pigsty and many chicken coups around my house. My father was very keen to establish chicken farming on a commercial scale. In the village, I think he was the first to consider an automated drinking water system for chicken farming. He also invested in the best breed of chicken for egg production. I remembered he had to go to Paya Lebar airport to collect the young imported chicks. Unfortunately his chicken farming venture was not successful.
Main Chicken Coup
Selling Chicken Eggs
As the chicken population grew, so did the eggs collected. Selling eggs was my mum's task. She had to carry the eggs to the market very early in the morning. It’s about 20 minutes walk. She displayed her eggs along the roadside, outside the Chong Pang wet market.
I can remember very vaguely my father’s pig farm. I remembered there was a pigsty about 100 feet in front of my house. Behind the sty was a smelly and small pond dug to collect the pig excrement, which in turn was used as fertilizer for vegetable farming. Such eco-system was a norm in the village. Something that I always remembered was a man, one-eye jack who use to walk his boar around the village to provide mating service for pig farmers. He was a short dark man who wore no shirt. I was too young to understand what was going on then.
Apparently my father was not too lucky with pig farming. A swine fever wiped off his stock and he ended up owing the animal feed shopkeeper some money for the fodders, which was taken on credit. Those days, creditability was based on trust. Once the pigs were sold, it's unwritten rule you settle the credit provided. The shopkeeper gave him time to repay his debts. Of course, father repaid all his debts eventually. The same shop keeper also provided groceries services. His delivery man will bring all our ordered supplies on the back of his bicycles. I always remembered he was hounded by my dogs at every delivery.
Chicken Farming
My father and mother were very involved in chicken and pig farming. We had one pigsty and many chicken coups around my house. My father was very keen to establish chicken farming on a commercial scale. In the village, I think he was the first to consider an automated drinking water system for chicken farming. He also invested in the best breed of chicken for egg production. I remembered he had to go to Paya Lebar airport to collect the young imported chicks. Unfortunately his chicken farming venture was not successful.
Main Chicken Coup Selling Chicken Eggs
As the chicken population grew, so did the eggs collected. Selling eggs was my mum's task. She had to carry the eggs to the market very early in the morning. It’s about 20 minutes walk. She displayed her eggs along the roadside, outside the Chong Pang wet market.
Eventually she gained regular clients. One was an Indian shop keeper who would order regularly from her. Eventually, my elder brother Bobby became her delivery man. He would deliver the eggs in a wire meshed basket by bicycle to Teo Lee Road, about 10 min cycling time from home.
My brother was very playful and he had passion for fish and birds. He always detoured for adventures. Even on his way back from school, he would also indulge in his adventures to catch fish and birds. Many times, he was severely punished by father.
He also have to deliver eggs to his primary school teachers. One of these teachers becomes his ‘adopted sister’. Relationship was great until we grew up and moved out of the village house and lost contact.
Helping out
The role for me and my younger sister was to collect eggs, feed the chicken everyday around 4pm. In addition we were to collect and wash the water containers and replenish them with clean water for the chicken.
My Uncle's boneshaker van
My uncle, my mother second brother (Ngiam Ann Huan) was involved in this poultry trade. He collected eggs from us and through my father’s many connections, mainly Hainanese chicken farmers around Sembawang vicinity. He became an egg supplier. He had an old van and I remembered that must was my first experience of a car ride. I often hitched a ride in his car to egg farms and I remembered the ride was really bumpy on unpaved roads. It was really hot in the van too but nevertheless, it was thrilling then. That was probably during my pre primary school years.
Chicken business didn't succeed
My father chicken business never really took off. With depressing egg prices, and high cost of chicken feeds, he decided to wind down this business. The cages in the chicken coup slowly empty and that was the end of egg farming.
My mother continued to breed chicken till our house was acquired by the government in 1987. The chicken were breed specially for Chinese New Year. The colourful cockerels weighed up to 5 kg each, the hen weighed up to 3 kg. The meat was fleshy and tasty. Normally relatives and friends had to order in advance.
My father tried very hard in all these business ventures, but he simply cannot escape failures. I don't ever remembering him getting upset of this setback.
Life goes on for him.
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