Vietnamese breeder sells long-tailed chickens for $2,800 a pair

Phan Minh Hong, a breeder in the southern province of Binh Duong, sells these chickens for VND65 million ($2,860) a pair. Minh said the Japanese breed Onagadori is much coveted by hobbyists for its incredibly long tail plumage, sometimes nine meters long.

Onagadori chickens, known as "Honorable Fowl," are protected by the Japanese government, Minh said.

“The breed is considered a living monument of the Japanese culture. It is not easy to bring an Onagadori out of Japan. With a friend’s help, I managed to acquire 100 eggs for artificial incubation,” Hong said.

He is believed to be the first Onagadori breeder in Vietnam. Some of the chickens already have two-meter tail feathers and should be ready for sale soon.

The market is not big, but there are fervent buyers, Hong said.

Hong currently has 100 Onagadori chickens. A rooster weighs about 2.5 kilograms and a hen about two kilograms.

They are kept in special cages to protect the non-molting tail feathers.

“I can sell this pair for VND65 million, the highest price in the country for a chicken breed," Hong said. "For one-month-old chickens, the price is VND2 million each. And they are my most sought-after birds ever.”