Intensive Rearing of Native Chicken for Meat in Western Tamil Naduinte

Native chicken constitutes rural poultry that offers many advantages and attracts the farming community, entrepreneurs, SHG, etc., Native chicken farming provides subsidiary income to the rural families, can be easily adopted even by resource poor facilities with very low investment, even illiterates can adopt it as it requires much less skill, native chicken are more sturdy and well adapted to local climatic conditions, can be sustained entirely in free range, both eggs and meat of native chicken fetch 100 to 150 % more price compared to those of commercial hybrids, as they occupy specific market segment. Native chicken farming improves the nutritional status of rural poor; rural people have a traditional affinity towards native chicken and are well versed with its husbandry practices. Native chicken rearing is gaining momentum now among jobless youth, school dropouts, etc., in rural and semi-urban areas. Majority of the small farmers are keeping 10-15 non- descriptive native chicken under back yard rearing.