Analysis of a village chicken production system and performance of improved dual purpose chickens under a subtropical hill agro-ecosystem in India.
This study was designed to analyze the low input backyard poultry production system practiced by the tribal farmers, and evaluate the performance of an improved dual-purpose breed, the Vanaraja. Results revealed that a significantly (p < 0.05) higher number of farmers used temporary, non-conventional poultry houses made of locally available materials, such as bamboo and wood. Most of the farmers (65.9 %) did not provide balanced feed to their poultry and did not vaccinate their birds against any disease. Under standard management conditions, the average body weight of Vanaraja birds at 6 weeks was 625 +/- 10.9 g. Under backyard conditions, the body weight at 18 months was 3.6 +/- 0.8 kg. The age at first egg was 154 +/- 9 days in the backyard system, whereas under the intensive system it was 196 +/- 4 days. Annual production under the backyard and intensive systems of rearing was 176 +/- 9 and 152 +/- 7 eggs, respectively. Mortality of adult birds was 12 % and predation by foxes and wild cats accounted for 1.67 %. This study revealed that village chickens are an important income source for household expenses, and that traditional free-range poultry production in the smallholder sector of developing countries can possibly be improved through the use of improved dual-purpose birds.
Animal Production Division, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umroi Road, Umiam, Barapani, Meghalaya 793 103, India. ogkumaresan@rediffmail.com
A
A
Kumaresan
K M
KM
Bujarbaruah
K A
KA
Pathak
Bijoy
B
Chhetri
S K
SK
Ahmed
Santosh
S
Haunshi
D000328:Adult; D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D002645:Chickens / Q000254:growth & development*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D012424:Rural Population; D014329:Tropical Climate