Yingkou Silkworm Pupa Chicken Eggs

Yingkou Silkworm Pupa Chicken Eggs

Yingkou Silkworm Pupa Chicken Eggs are a product with a geographical indication for agricultural products.

　　The oak tasar silkworm is one of the important specialties of Yingkou City. The production of oak tasar silkworms in Yingkou can be traced back to the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty when immigrants from Shandong settled here to make a living. The most prosperous period was between 1915 and 1930. According to the “Gai Ping County Annals,” in the 8th year of the Republic of China (1919), a reward system was used to encourage reporting of cocooning sites, with reports reaching 14,604 sets, equivalent to an annual production of 10,613.2 tons of oak tasar silkworm cocoons. The local chicken farming history in Yingkou is long-standing, traditionally featuring free-range farming by households. The native chickens of Yingkou had small heads, shiny feathers, and advantages such as tolerance to coarse feed and strong disease resistance, but they had low egg-laying capacity and poor feed conversion. Oak tasar silkworms are one of Yingkou’s specialties, and each year a large surplus of silkworm pupae is produced. Farmers began using silkworm pupae as feed, which significantly improved the quality of the eggs. However, the native chickens still had low egg production. After the reform and opening-up, the Lohmann Brown laying hen was introduced. Through crossbreeding and selective breeding with the native Yingkou chicken, a new breed—the Yingkou Silkworm Pupa Laying Hen—was eventually developed, combining the advantages of both breeds and demonstrating stable genetic performance. In the late 1980s, the lyricist Bu Zhi, while conducting fieldwork in Nuquan, Gaizhou, left behind the verse: “On a poetic visit to Nuquan, where mountains grow greener and waters clearer. By chance I tried silkworm pupa eggs, and found their aftertaste truly dear.”

　　Yingkou Silkworm Pupa Chicken Eggs are a specialty of Yingkou City, Liaoning Province. These eggs are of superior quality, with lower cholesterol content and higher levels of vitamins A, D, B1, trace elements such as iron, calcium, and phosphorus, taurine, and 18 types of amino acids compared to regular eggs. Yingkou Silkworm Pupa Chicken Eggs are a nationally protected geographical indication agricultural product.

　　The production area of Yingkou Silkworm Pupa Chicken Eggs is located in Dashiqiao City and Gaizhou City, Yingkou. The breed used is a result of multiple crossbreeding and selection between Lohmann Brown laying hens and native Yingkou chickens. The chickens are fed dealkalized oak tasar silkworm pupae, supplemented with millet, high-quality corn, coarse grains, soybean meal, soybean germ, and alfalfa. Leveraging the geographical advantages of the mountainous eastern region of Yingkou and adopting eco-friendly, natural farming methods, the breed not only achieves strong disease resistance and reduced need for medication, enabling large-scale farming, but has also been tested by authoritative institutions and confirmed to be of superior quality—with lower cholesterol and higher levels of vitamins A, D, B1, trace elements such as iron, calcium, and phosphorus, taurine, and 18 types of amino acids compared to regular eggs.

　　Currently, silkworm pupa chicken eggs are sold in Yingkou and surrounding areas, as well as in Panjin, Anshan, Jinzhou, Shenyang, Dalian, Beijing, and other locations.

　　In 2014, the “Yingkou Silkworm Pupa Chicken Eggs” application submitted by the Yingkou Breeding Livestock and Poultry Supervision and Management Station passed the review by the Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and expert evaluation, leading to its registration and protection as a national geographical indication agricultural product.

　　Geographical Scope

　　The production area of Yingkou Silkworm Pupa Chicken Eggs spans 10 towns, covering an area of 1,451.8 square kilometers, within the following coordinates: 121°56′ to 123°02′ east longitude and 39°55′ to 40°56′ north latitude. This includes the towns of Nuquan, Bangshibao, Wolongquan, Xutun, Liangtun, Wanfu, and Shizijie in Gaizhou City, as well as Tangchi, Jianyi, and Zhoujia towns in Dashiqiao City.