Bird seller hopes for better luck in Year of the Rooster

JOHOR BARU: With the Year of the Rooster crowing in the near distance, bird seller Mohd Afendi Hasan is hoping that his ayam serama will bring him more profit and prosperity.

As it is, the Lunar New Year is usually a busy time for him as he meets various orders for burung pipit.

The bird is favoured by the Chinese who believe that releasing the caged birds would bring them good luck, he said.

“As the Year of the Rooster is just around the corner, many people will want to buy ayam serama too,” said the 32-year-old Kelantanese who quit his job as a factory worker here four years ago to become a bird seller.

He sells a variety of birds, from ducks to songbirds and ayam serama.

“Ayam serama makes a meaningful pet this Chinese New Year as the animal symbolises wealth and fortune,” he said when met at his shop in Kampung Melayu Pandan here.

Mohd Afendi said the price of an ayam serama depends on the quality of its feathers and the size of its chest.

“It could go from a couple of hundred ringgit to thousands or more than RM10,000,” he added.

For Mohd Afendi, he was happy to have sold one to a wealthy businessman just a few days before for RM1,000.

He said he gets his supply of fowl from Kelantan, and will deliver the ayam serama right to the doorstep of his customers all over Johor.

He added that Singaporeans who reside in the state also buy from him.

“But they don’t bring the ayam serama back to Singapore because it’s a hassle for the owner to get a special permit to bring in a live animal from Malaysia,” he said.

Mohd Afendi said well-kept ayam serama could live longer than six years and be entered for various competitions.

“I really hope I will have more luck and profit in the Year of the Rooster,” he smiled.