P.V. NARSIMHA RAO TELANGANA VETERINARY UNIVERSITY
RAJENDRANAGAR,HYDERABAD
Importance

Backyard poultry production is an enterprise with low initial investment but higher economic returns and can easily be man -aged by women, children, and elderly persons of the households. Villagers who cannot afford to maintain other livestock can pre-sumably maintain few backyard chickens
  • Provides additional income and employment to the rural households (women).
  • It integrates well with other agricultural operations, so extra or in additional land is not required.
  • Aids in enhancing the soil fertility in backyards (15 chickens produce 1- 1.2 kg of manure/ day).
  • Produce of rural poultry farming fetches high price compared to those produce from intensive poultry farming.
  • Waste material (insects, ants, fallen grains, green grass, kitchen waste, vegetable waste etc.) can be efficiently converted in to egg and chicken meat for human consumption.
  • Alleviates protein malnutrition in vulnerable groups viz. expectant women, feeding mothers and children.
  • Eggs and meat from birds reared under free range conditions have low cholesterol concentration compared to those produced under intensive poultry farming.