Integrating Nutrition and Livelihood through Rajasri Backyard Poultry in Semi-Arid Telangana

Introduction

Poultry farming has increasingly become a cornerstone of rural livelihoods in India, particularly among smallholder and landless communities. It contributes not only to household nutrition through the provision of high-quality animal protein but also serves as a vital source of supplementary income. As per the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD, 2024), over 20% of India's poultry population is reared under backyard systems, with indigenous and improved native breeds playing a significant role in sustaining the nutritional and economic well-being of rural families. Among the improved dual-purpose breeds, the Rajasri chicken, developed by the Poultry Research Station, PVNRTVU in Hyderabad, has gained recognition for its high adaptability, moderate egg production, good body weight, disease tolerance, and ability to thrive under lowinput, semi-scavenging conditions. Unlike exotic breeds that often underperform in rural contexts due to feed, climate, and health constraints, Rajasri birds are tailored for backyard rearing, combining traits of rusticity and productivity (ICAR-DPR, 2023). In socio-economically marginalized regions, especially in dryland districts like Jagtial, Telangana, backyard poultry plays a dual role. It enhances dietary diversity by providing affordable sources of eggs and meat and offers liquid income to meet day-to-day household needs such as health, education, and transport (Jha & Dey, 2025) [6] . Moreover, as a genderinclusive enterprise, it empowers women and elderly farmers who can manage small flocks with minimal land and capital investment. Against this backdrop, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the on-field viability of Rajasri birds reared under decentralized, semi-intensive backyard conditions across five selected villages of Jagtial district. The objective was to assess the breed's growth performance, reproductive efficiency, mortality, and economic returns, while also exploring its potential to improve household food security and livelihood resilience.

Materials and Method

A total of 2000 seven-week-old Rajasri growers were distributed among 100 rural beneficiaries across five village of Ailapoor, Joganpalle, Porumalla, Katlakunta, and Mythapur villages in the Jagtial district of Telangana State. Each beneficiary distributed 20 numbers of birds and the project spanned from July 2023 to June 2024. The birds were managed under a semi-intensive backyard rearing system, utilizing locally available feed resources with partial supplementation. No intensive brooding or feeding was enforced beyond six weeks of age, aligning with costeffective rural poultry practices. The study parameters of growth performance (weekly and biweekly body weights), egg production and egg weight trends, supplementary feed ingredients and associated costs, mortality and economic returns per bird and per household were collected up to 52 wks of age.

Results and Discussion

The backyard rearing of Rajasri birds under semi-intensive systems demonstrated commendable performance in terms of growth, egg production, survivability, and income generation. The body weight of grower birds increased progressively from 516.2 g at 8 weeks to 1216 g by 20 weeks (Table 2), and further reached an average of 2696 g by 52 weeks of age (Table 3). These gains align with the known genetic potential of Rajasri birds and reflect their adaptability to low-input systems. The steady weight gain is attributable to the breed's inherent foraging behaviour, efficient utilization of fibrous village-level feed resources, and gradual muscle accretion typical of dual-purpose birds. Physiologically, these birds exhibit enhanced gastrointestinal efficiency, particularly in gizzard grinding and cecal microbial activity, aiding digestion of coarse and unprocessed grains (Etches, 2021; Scanes, 2020) [3,9] . The feed conversion ratio (FCR) ranged from 1.294 in the 1st week to 3.434 by the 6th week (Table 1), indicating an increase in maintenance energy requirements with age and weight, which is expected in slower-growing indigenous breeds (ICAR-DPR, 2023). Egg production parameters were also satisfactory under backyard conditions. The birds began laying their first eggs between 174 to 183 days of age and reached 50% hen-day production by 198 to 207 days across the five villages (Table 4). This reproductive milestone correlates with the onset of physiological maturity marked by activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.

The increasing secretion of gonadotropins stimulates follicular development and initiates ovulation, while oestrogen prepares the oviduct and promotes medullary bone formation for calcium mobilization (Etches, 2021) [3] . The hen-day egg production steadily increased from 0.49% at 22 weeks to a peak of 61.24% at 48 weeks, maintaining above 56% till the 52nd week (Table 5). This consistency in lay reflects the breed's reproductive resilience, and the absence of broodiness in Rajasri further enhances laying persistency by preventing prolactin-induced ovarian suppression (El Halawani & Rozenboim, 2022) [2] . Egg weight also showed a gradual increase, from 40.50 g at 24 weeks to nearly 55.76 g by 52 weeks (Table 6). This trend is typical in poultry and is influenced by the increasing size and functional capacity of the magnum and shell gland as the bird ages. The maturation of reproductive organs facilitates greater deposition of albumin and shell content, driven by rising plasma oestrogen levels. Differences in egg weight among villages were possibly influenced by local variations in feed supplementation, ambient temperature, and micronutritional availability. Fertility and hatchability were observed to be modest, at 65-70%, which is common in decentralized backyard setups where natural mating is unsupervised and male-female ratios may be suboptimal. Moreover, the Rajasri birds, being selectively bred for productivity, exhibited little to no broodiness-a behavior essential for natural hatching in rural systems. While native hens with high prolactin levels effectively incubated 12-15 eggs per clutch, the absence of maternal behavior in Rajasri necessitates the use of artificial incubation methods to ensure flock multiplication. This tradeoff, though biologically driven, supports consistent egg availability for consumption or sale, as broodiness often halts ovulation (FAO, 2023). Mortality remained within acceptable limits (<10%) during both grower and laying phases, reflecting the efficacy of the prophylactic health program and the natural hardiness of Rajasri. The semi-scavenging environment possibly contributed to improved immunity due to diversified antigen exposure, enhancing both humoral and cell-mediated responses, as documented in indigenous poultry breeds. Economically, the project showed significant potential. The total cost incurred per bird, including standard brooding (₹90), supplementary feed (₹18/kg), and health care, amounted to ₹3,06,744 for 2000 birds (Table 7). Revenue was primarily derived from the sale of table and fertile eggs (₹528,080), hatched chicks (₹51,325), and sale of cockerels and spent hens (₹322,500), yielding a gross income of ₹9,01,905 (Table 8). Net returns per bird were calculated as ₹297.58, and each beneficiary earned approximately ₹5,951.61 annually, which translated to ₹16.35 per day (Table 9). These findings resonate with previous studies from Odisha and West Bengal, which also highlight backyard poultry as a source of nutritional and financial resilience in marginalized households (Jha & Dey, 2025) [6] .

Mortality

The mortality was within the limitation.

Incubation Of Eggs

Native chickens are good brooders and mothers, therefore used for propagating the stock. Farmers set @ 12-15 eggs per broody hen for incubation. The fertilitywas however found to be low in backyard poultry rearing (65& 70%). It was observed that the Rajasree birds did not exhibit the brood nature. Beyond economics, the consistent availability of eggs and meat contributed significantly to household dietary diversity, addressing micronutrient gaps in vulnerable communities. The integration of improved breeds like Rajasri with existing backyard practices bridges the gap between traditional systems and scientific poultry production. Moreover, the nonbroody nature of the breed ensures continuous lay, and when paired with native hens for natural brooding, enables sustained flock maintenance even without artificial incubation.

Given its adaptability, cost-effectiveness, and positive socio-economic outcomes, Rajasri-based backyard poultry farming can serve as a replicable livelihood strategy for dryland areas across India. Strengthening this model through institutional support, women-focused training, decentralized hatcheries, and feed linkages could further amplify its impact under rural development, tribal sub-plan (TSP), and nutritional mission programs.

References

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