Backyard poultry farming: A small source of income for rural peoples

Backyard poultry farming: A small source of income for rural peoples

Danveer S. Yadav¹ and Rashmi Choudhary²

1. Assistant Professor, Department of LPM
2. Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary Pathology

                      College of Veterinary Science and A.H., Mhow,  Pin- 453446

Introduction

Backyard poultry farming is an ancient practice in our country, based on rearing of indigenous or desi breeds of birds with very low production performances. In terms of egg production indigenous breeds lay only 70-80 eggs per year and production of meat is also very less. However, the backyard poultry production can be easily reach to a higher point with improved varieties of chicken and so we can easily improve the quality and quantity of eggs and meat. Backyard poultry farming is an handy enterprise to improve the socio-economic status of poor farmers with low initial investment but higher economic return by using improved  chicken varieties having following characteristics:

• Adaptive in rural conditions
• Self reproductive in nature
• Having maternal instinct
• Good brooding capacity
• Hardy in nature
• Good scavenger
• Beautifull colored plumage
• Escaping capacity from predators
• Well body conformation

Considering the above characteristics the varieties that can be recommended for backyard poultry farming are Gramapriya, Vanaraja, Girirani, Krishna-J etc.

Interventions

• Lack of Introduction of high yielding germplasm of poultry suitable for backyard poultry rearing
• Introduction of small scale incubator for hatching eggs
• Poor health care and diseasecontrol
• Lack of capacity building
• Lack of organized market channels for inputs and outputs

Strategies for Improvement

• Genetic make-up of birds
• Avoidance of inbreeding
• Housing and production
• Supplement nutrition
• Disease prevention and control
• Training to farmers

Genetic groups used in backyard poultry farming are

• Local non descript fowls– Small in size, poor layers, small clutch size, prominent brooding instinct, suitable to harsh climate, disease resistance and mothering instinct.
• Indigenous breeds– like Ankaleshwar (Gujrat), Aseel (A.P. and M.P.), Kadaknath (M.P.), Miri (Assam), Tellichery (Kerala), Kalasthi (A.P.), Busra (Gujrat & Maharashtra), Ghagus (Karnatak & A.P.), Harringhata Black (West Bengal) etc.
• Improved varieties of birds– Natural and attractive multi color feather pattern, high general immune competence, so perform better under adverse conditions, perform better even with poor quality diets, grow faster and produce more eggs than Desi hen, produce brown eggs like Desi hen.

They arelisted below:

Name                      Feather Pattern                    Purpose                    Organization

CARI-Nirbhic              Multicolor                             Dual                         CARI, Izatnagar

CARI- Shyama          Mostly Black                          Dual                              -do-

CARI- UPKARI            Mixed Color                          Dual                             -do-

CARI-HITKARI            Neck region is                        Dual                             -do-

devoid of feathers

CARI-DEVENDR      Bright mixed color                    Dual                              -do-

Vanaraja                 Multicolor                                 Dual                      PDP, Hyderabad

Gramapriya              Multicolor                                 Egg                            -do-

Srinidhi                       Multicolor                                Dual                            -do-

Krishibro                      Multicolor                               Meat                          -do-

Swarnadhar               Multicolor                                Dual              Karnataka Veterinary

Animal Fishery

Sciences University,

Bangalore

Griraja                      Multicolor                            Dual                  -do-

Gramalaxmi             Mixed brown                         Egg             KAU, Mannuthy

Nicobari                 Black & White                         Egg               CARI, Portblair

Constraints

Major constraints of backyard poultry farming in India are high mortality rate in young chicks due to a combination of diseases, lack of infrastructure, low production performance of desi birds, lack of scientific knowledge among rural peoples, predation, malnutrition, climatic exposure and feed price fluctuations throughout year.

 Conclusion

The eggs and meat of birds reared in the backyard farming fetches higher premium due to high consumer acceptability even in the urban sectors where plenty of eggs and poultry meat from commercial units are available. Besides stable supply of high-quality animal food, backyard poultry production promotes income opportunities particularly for the weaker sections in the tribal areas. The backyard farming will certainly improve the economic status of a majority of rural/tribal families from lower socio-economic groups in the rural/tribal areas. Backyard farming fulfill a wide range of functions e.g. the provision of meat and eggs, food for special festivals, chicken for traditional ceremonies, pest control and petty cash, utilizing minimum inputs, minimum human attention, and causing less environmental pollution.

   Backyard Poultry Farming: A Better Source of Income for Rural People

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