Productive performance of Gramapriya chickens under backyard production system in the hill ecosystem of Tamenglong district of Manipur

Introduction

Backyard poultry farming plays a crucial role in nutritional security and supplementary income generation in rural and tribal households. Backyard poultry is one of the age old, handy and promising enterprises to improve the socio-economic status of farmers in rural areas with low-cost initial investment and high economic return along with, it also help in alleviation of malnutrition and empowerment of rural women. Backyard poultry farming is characterized by an indigenous night shelter system, scavenging on the natural feed with scant supplementary feeding, natural incubation and brooding of chicks, low productivity of birds, local marketing, and minimal health care practices (Rathod, 2020) [4] . Backyard poultry unit consists of rearing 10-20 birds for household purposes and festivals. Native chicken grows slowly and is widely accepted by the rural people across the country (Rajkumar et al., 2021) [5] . Indigenous chickens are well adapted to harsh environmental conditions but are characterized by low growth rate and poor egg production. To enhance productivity under low-input systems, improved dual-purpose strains such as Gramapriya have been introduced. Gramapriya chickens are known for better growth, higher egg production, and adaptability to scavenging conditions. Tamenglong district of Manipur, with its hilly terrain and traditional poultry practices, provides a suitable environment for evaluating the performance of such improved strains. The present study was undertaken to compare the production performance of Gramapriya and indigenous chickens under backyard conditions. Gramapriya is a cross breed, produced by breeding the Rhode Island and the Plymouth Rock. Gramapriya is a multicolored egg purpose chicken variety developed at Directorate of Poultry Research, Hyderabad, for free range and rural backyard rearing. This bird lays more number of eggs than native chickens and eggs are tinted brown in colour and heavier than native chicken eggs. Gramapriya has both a laying hen and a broiler property. Backyard poultry farming plays a crucial role in nutritional security and supplementary income generation in rural and tribal households. Backyard poultry farming is characterized by an indigenous night shelter system, scavenging on the natural feed with scant supplementary feeding, natural incubation and brooding of chicks, low productivity of birds, local marketing, and minimal health care practices (Rathod, 2020) [4] . Backyard poultry unit consists of rearing 10-20 birds for household purposes and festivals. Native chicken grows slowly and is widely accepted by the rural people across the country (Rajkumar et al., 2021) [5] . Indigenous chickens are well adapted to harsh environmental conditions but are characterized by low growth rate and poor egg production. To enhance productivity under low-input systems, improved dualpurpose strains such as Gramapriya have been introduced. Gramapriya chickens are known for better growth, higher egg production, and adaptability to scavenging conditions. Tamenglong district of Manipur, with its hilly terrain and traditional poultry practices, provides a suitable environment for evaluating the performance of such improved strains. The present study was undertaken to compare the production performance of Gramapriya and indigenous chickens under backyard conditions.

Materials and Methods

The performance of Gramapriya as a layer variety for rural/tribal areas, was evaluated and compare with local desi bird under free-range conditions. This trial was conducted in Tupul, Lukhambi, Namkaolong and Marangching village of Tamenglong district under OFT programme during the year 2018 to 2019 to study the growth and reproductive performance of Gramapriya birds and native birds in backyard system of rearing. Two hundred (200) numbers of DOC birds were distributed to two farmer's groups in different villages of Tamenglong district. Each group consists of 5 farmers and each farmer was supplied with 20 numbers of improved varieties of chicks. Group I was reared with (Gramapriya), Group II with native chicken as control Birds were maintained under semi-scavenging systems in farmer households. The farmers were selected based on keeping a native chicken of 10-15 in the backyard. During brooding, chicks were provided with ad libitum starter feed and clean drinking water. All the chicks were vaccinated against Ranikhet disease as per the vaccination schedule. After brooding, the chicks were rear in the backyard and continued feeding starter feed until they were able to feed from the backyard. The native chicks brooded under natural brooding. Management Rearing of Gramapriya chickens under a backyard production system in the hill ecosystem of Tamenglong District, Manipur, is highly profitable due to their resilience, moderate body weight (which helps them escape predators like eagles or wild cats), and high egg-laying capacity (180-220 eggs/year).To optimize their productive performance in a hilly terrain, a semi-intensive approach combining early nursery care, daytime scavenging, and strategic evening supplementation yields the best results.

Methods of Data Collection:

The data was collected from farmer's house of the selected villages. Parameters on different Body weight, Age at sexual maturity, Egg production and egg weight, Feed conversion ratio (FCR), Survivability (%) were recorded.

Results and Discussion

Growth performance Gramapriya chickens showed significantly higher body weight at all ages compared to indigenous chickens.

Performance parameters of Gramapriya birds and indigenous birds

Parameters

Gramapriya Indigenous Body weight (g) At

Survivability

Survivability was higher in Gramapriya (93.4%) than indigenous chickens (87.2%), reflecting better adaptability and disease resistance under village conditions.

Sexual maturity

Gramapriya birds attained sexual maturity earlier (179 days) compared to indigenous chickens (190-210 days), resulting in earlier egg production.

Egg production

Annual egg production was significantly higher in Gramapriya (151 eggs) compared to indigenous chickens (69 eggs), with higher egg weight (53 g vs. 42 g).

Result and Discussions

Gramapriya chickens demonstrated superior performance over indigenous chickens under backyard production systems in Tamenglong district. Their higher growth rate, better feed efficiency, improved survivability, earlier maturity, and greater egg production make them highly suitable for rural poultry development programs in hill ecosystems. The higher growth rate in Gramapriya is attributed to its improved genetic character accretion. In the undulating terrain of Tamenglong, where standard commercial broiler production is restricted by terrain and feed transport costs, the rapid biomass accumulation of Gramapriya presents a highly viable, climate-resilient alternative for meat security. Improved varieties often suffer high mortality in tribal pockets due to harsh weather and a lack of intensive biosecurity. However, Gramapriya's multicolored plumage provides natural camouflage against predators (like birds of prey), and its strong immune system protects it against common local pathogens. When combined with basic health interventions (such as timely Ranikhet disease vaccination), its survivability ensures low economic risk for backyard poultry adopters.

Conclusion

The introduction of Gramapriya chickens into the backyard farming systems of Tamenglong district bridges the gap between low-yielding traditional poultry and high-input commercial farming. Their superiority across all primary economic traits without requiring sophisticated housing or expensive commercial feeds underlines their potential to alleviate rural poverty, combat protein malnutrition, and drive sustainable rural poultry development in the fragile hill ecosystems of Northeast India.

Acknowledgement

Authors are highly thankful to Director ICAR Barapani, Director ATARI Zone VII and HoRC, ICAR Manipur Centre for financial support for carrying FLD on Gramapriya birds.

References

1. Haunshi S, Doley S, Shakuntala I. Production performance of indigenous chicken of northeastern region and improved varieties developed for backyard farming. The Indian Journal of Animal Sciences. 2011;79(9):902-905.
2. Patel N, Jha DK, Shrivastava AK, Baskar K. Performance of Gramapriya poultry birds under different systems of management. International Journal of Agricultural Technology. 2013;9(7):1769-1774.
3. Singh P, Kumar A, Sharma RK, Verma AK, Yadav SK, Mishra R, et al. Comparative performance of Vanaraja, Gramapriya and indigenous Desi bird under backyard system of rearing. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences. 2018;7(2):101105.
4. Rathod J. Use of mobile/smart phone for e-commerce in India: an empirical investigation. Journal of Management Information and Decision Sciences. 2020 Dec 1;23(4):304-316.
5. Rajkumar RP. Suffering and salutogenesis: a conceptual analysis of lessons for psychiatry from existential positive psychology (PP2. 0) in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021 Apr 9;12:646334.