JD.com's 'Million Step' chickens to relieve rural poverty

China's e-commerce giant JD.com has come up with a plan to relieve rural poverty by helping farmers produce and sell healthier free range chickens.

Announcing the concept, company CEO, Liu Qiangdong, said the "running chickens" project would see JD.com buy the birds at three times average local prices, so long as the chickens have run a million steps in their lifetimes.

China's e-commerce giant JD.com's CEO, Liu Qiangdong, launches the "running chickens" project online and promises to purchase chickens at three times average local prices if they can run one million steps in their lifetimes. [Photo: sina.com.cn]

Liu said, each low income family would receive 100 chicks for free, with a pedometer attached to each of their legs. The chickens must be raised free range, and run at least 1 million steps before meeting JD.com’s purchasing standards. They’ll then be bought back for more than 100 yuan (14.6 USD).

99% of chickens on the Chinese market move less than three meters in their whole life, explained Liu. Compared to the 45 days of raising broiler chickens, the feeding period for the free range birds will be around 160 days. They’ll also enjoy a diet of fruit and vegetables three times a week.

As a result, the prices for the free range chickens will be much higher than broiler chickens. On JD.com, free range birds are sold at 128, 168 and 188 yuan based on their weight, while other chickens are sold for 50 yuan on average.

Each chicken is equipped with a pedometer on its leg to calculate their steps. [Photo: sina.com.cn]

A running chicken. [Photo: sina.com.cn]