Semi-intensive system for backyard poultry fetches good dividends

“Although farmers mostly maintain native birds or improved varieties leading to greater number of eggs as well as meat, there is no denying the fact that backyard poultry provides a good source of supplementary income” says .,” says Dr. R. Unnikrishnan, Veterinary Surgeon, Animal Husbandry Department, Govt of Kerala.Compared to commercial poultry, backyard poultry rearing is simpler because there is no great investment involved in it. The birds are let loose and forage on whatever they can find, thus curtailing feeding expense for a farmer.Significant moveIn a significant departure from the traditional way of rearing backyard poultry an entrepreneur-cum-farmer, Srinivas, from Anchipuram village in Kunigal taluk, Tumkur district in Karnataka, devised a semi intensive system of rearing.In this system of rearing, the birds are kept inside sheds for the first four months and later are allowed to forage in the morning till they attain good weight after which they are sold.