Economic importance of desi chicken breeds for Backyard Farming System in Cuddalore District

Abstract Assessment of improved breeds viz., Gramapriya and TANUVAS Aseel in terms of egg production and feasibility for backyard rearing was conducted as on farm testing (OFT) by Division of Animal Husbandry, Annamalai University, Cuddalore during 2019-2020 to assess its suitability and performance under the backyard farming system. The improved breeds viz., TANUVAS Aseel and Grama priya were assessed for their performance on egg production and body weight with local desi breeds. Among the above breeds, egg production of Gramapriya was higher with annual egg production (175 eggs) when compared to TANUVAS Aseel (143 eggs) and farmers local desi breeds (75 eggs). The Body weight at 20th week was also higher in Gramapriya (1.70 kg) followed by TANUVAS Aseel (1.58 kg) and farmers local desi breeds (1.35kg). The performance of Gramapriya breed was better than TANUVAS Aseel chicken in terms of annual egg production and body weight under backyard system of rearing. The B:C ratio was higher for Gramapriya (4.27) compared to 3.80 for TANUVAS Aseel and 3.34 for local desi breed. The comparative analysis infers that Gramapriya breed is a suitable breed that can be promoted in large scale in the backyard poultry farming in Cuddalore district