Tanuvas breed Nandanam chicken crowd-puller at expo
TIRUCHY: The visitors to the Agri Fair were taken by surprise finding some chicken breeds indigenous to the Tiruchy region in the expo, especially the delta.
Visitors had a rare chance to look at breeds such as Siruvidai, Peruvidai, Tanuvas-Assel, Kadaknath, Nicobari and Nandanam. Apart from the indigenous breeds, a number of other cross breeds which help for a lucrative earning for the chicken farmers were also available at the expo. The Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Science University (TANUVAS) had developed the breeds.
Nandanam chicken which is a synthetic dual-purpose chicken developed through the reciprocal crossing of White Leghorn and Rhode Island Red is said to be the most popular one among these breeds. Researchers from Poultry unit, Instructional Livestock Farm Complex, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Orathanadu,
Thanjavur said that breed is the most sought-after. It is a dual-purpose, multi-colour plumage bird which lays brown shelled eggs and is non-broody.
“This bird is popular among the farming community from the Delta region because of its higher egg production capability. They lay at least 180 to 220 eggs a year against 72 of any other indigenous variety of hens. Though they have a lesser lifespan of two years, these types of chicken are ready for consumption as meat between 140 and 145 days of their life-span,” a researcher on the stall said.
Tanuvas has exclusively bred Nandanam turkey type 2 for meat purposes. These birds would be ready by 16 weeks and would weigh over 3 kgs. “Against the hefty turkeys, this type 2 turkey has good demand in the market as it is good enough to the buying needs of a single family.
The chick of these breeds are available at the Orathanadu Research Centre.