POPULAR POULTRY BREEDS OF SOUTH ASIA

POPULAR POULTRY BREEDS OF SOUTH ASIA

Poultry includes several kinds of birds, such as chicken, ducks, geese, turkeys, and guinea fowls. poultry production has many advantages for farmer who likes poultry and is industrious. For success, a poultry ma must good judgment in managing the enterprise. The following are the desirable features of poultry production.

Classification of Fowls

Fowl may be classified based on utility, economic value or fancy purpose and these include

1.      Meat type: The breeds that lay less eggs and heavy in body weight are called table or meat type breeds. They are mainly reared for meat production. Brahama, Cochin, Lengshan, Aseel, etc. are meat type breeds.

2.      Egg type: The breed that lays big egg and are not heavy in body weight are called egg type or laying birds. Leghorn and Minorca are egg type laying bird.

3.      Dual purpose: The breeds that lay more egg and heavy in body weight are called dual purpose breeds. They are ideal breeds for the small farmers. Rhode Island Red, Plymouth Rock, New Hampshire, Australorp, Orpington etc. are the dual purpose breeds.

POPULAR POULTRY BREEDS OF SOUTH ASIA

Important poultry breeds

A very large majority of the domestic fowls in Nepal are non-descript. As a rule, the name desi (local) is given to the indigenous fowls of any description. The number of improved fowls in Nepal is very small. The common desi hens show a great variation in there color, size, and are poor layers of small-sized eggs. These are, however, ideal mothers, good sisters and excellent foragers. They are hardy and possess natural immunity against common diseases. Among the local breeds, which are said to be more or less pure are assel and ghagus.

Aseel is the most important of all the indigenous breeds of fowls. It is well known for its fighting qualities and is considered an ideal table bird. Its flesh is plentiful, delicious and has a characteristic pleasant flavor. These fowls are, however, poor layers, hoe in fecundity and sloe in growth.

Aseel is a large and noble-looking bird. There is no fixed or standard color. The comb is very small and varies in type. The face is rather long, the wattles are rudimentary and almost imperceptible. The ear lobes are small. The neck is scantily feathered. the plumage has little fluff and the feathers are tough. The standard weight is nearly 4.5 kg in adult cocks and 3.5 kg in adult hens.

Ghagus is a big and hardy breed. The birds are good for table. The hen is a fair layers. It is a good sitter and efficient mother. Ghagus has a small single or pea-shaped comb. The wattles and earlobes are small. The throat is loose and baggy. The legs are rather long, straight and strong. the usual plumage coloration is red, bay, brown, black, and gray. The weight of an cock and hen varies from 4 to 5 kg and 3 to 4 kg respectively.

White Leghorn

White Leghorn is one of the one most popular egg breeds of fowls all over the world. The breed originated in Italy and as far there are 12 varieties. Only three varieties however, have become popular. They are: (i) single comb white, (ii) single comb Buff; and (iii) single comb light Brown. The breed is small, active, and reputed for the harmony of its various parts.  It is an excellent layer, but not very much favored for table purposes. It is small and very compact in form, carries the tail rather low and has a small head with well set comb and wattle. It has a relatively long back, prominent breast, and comparatively long shanks.  The Shape of comb is quite important to leghorn fanciers. The single comb of the male should be of medium size and should stand erect, with five uniform, deeply serrated points. The front point of the female should stand erect, but the remainder of the comb should gradually slope to one side. The white Buff and Brown variety are subdivided further on the basis of the character of comb. i. e ; weather it is rose or single comb. All varieties have yellow beaks, skin, shanks (lrg) and toes.It is suitable for dried part of the country. It does not do well on heavy or wet soils and hilly areas. The standard weight of a cock of this breed is 2.7 kg and a hen is 2 kg.

Rhode Island Red

Rhode Island Red originated from Rhode Island in New England after crossing with the red Malay Game, Leghorn and Asiatic native stock. The bird has some what long, rectangular body, which is also broad and deep. The back is flat and the breast is carried well forward-characteristics which make it good meat producing bird. The plumage of the Rhode Island Red is rich dark or brownish red in colour, evenly distributed over the entire surface, and is well glossed. The wing when spread shows black both in primaries and secondries. The tail coverts, sickle feathers and main tail feather are also black. in lower neck feather of the female, there is also slight black marking at the base. The usual colour of the breed is brownish red, but buff, white and brown are not uncommon. There are two varieties of this breed (i) single comb and (ii) Rose comb.  The characteristics of the varieties are identical aside from the type of comb. In both cases the skin and shanks are yellow and the ear lobes red. The single comb is the more popular of the two. Rhode Island Red is one of the best all-round breeds of poultry. the quality and yield of flesh are good. It is an excellent layer. The eggs are brown-shelled and are large in size. Among the exotic breeds introduced in Nepal, Rhode Island Red is by far the most popular. It is the hardiest of all breeds. It can withstand extreme climatic conditions in cold, wet and heavy rainfall regions. The standard weight of the cock is 3.8 kgs and of hen 3 kgs cockerel 3.4 kg and pullet 2.5 kg colour of egg shell, brown to dark brown.

Plymouth rock

The Plymouth Rock is one of the most popular breeds in America, largely because it is a bird good size, with excellent fleshing properties and good egg laying abilities. Birds of this breed have long bodies and have good depth of body. They have single combs. Mature birds weigh from 3.5 to 4.5 kg. There are seven varieties of Plymouth rocks, each distinguished by its plumage. They are (i) Barred, (ii) White, (iii) Buff, (iv) Silver pencilled, (v) Blue (vi) partridge, and (vii) Colombian.

In general the plumage is grayish white, each feather crossed by almost black bars which should be even in width, straight and should extend down to the skin. Each feather should end with a narrow, dark tip which, with the alternate dark and light bars, give a bluish cast or shade to the surface colour. Solid black or partly black feather may occur in some birds of practically all stains in this variety. Black spots on the shanks are also common, particularly in females. All these strains indicate purity of breeds.

Barred Plymouth Rock: In this variety, the male birds have black and white bars of equal width, whereas in female the white bars should be as wide as the black bars.

White Plymouth Rock: White Plymouth rocks have been used extensively in broiler production. The plumage is white throughout and usually free from black ticking, brassiness and creaminess. The variety was developed from a sport of the barred variety

Australorp

Australorp is considered a good all-round breed. The breed was developed in Australia where for many years it has been bred principally for egg production rather than meat. It is also very fleshy which makes it a good dual-purpose breed. The back is somewhat long, and the body slopes gradually towards the tail. It has a good depth of body, and more closely feathered than the Orpington. The comb is single, the body is black, plumage is lustrous greenish black in all the sections, the under colouring is dull black. This breed gaining popularity in the wet and heavy rainfall regions. The standard weight of the cock is 3.8 kg and of hen 3.0 kg Cockerel 3.4 kg pullet 2.5 kg.

Sussex

Sussex was developed in England as table bird. The Sussex has a long body, broad at the shoulder and with good depth from front to rear. The breast is well developed and the bird has excellent fleshing qualities. They have single comb, and horn-colored beaks, shanks and toes. There are three varieties of this breed i.e. Light Sussex, Red Sussex and Speckled Sussex. The standard weight of cock is 4.5 kg and of Hen 3.5 kg. Cockerel 3.5 kg pullet 3 kg.

New Hampshire

The New Hampshire was developed from the Rhode Island Red, apparently with some crossing with one or more other breed in 1930 for both meat and egg production, is relatively a new breed developed in the United States. The characteristics features of this breed are single com, Chestnut Red plumage, early maturity, rapid feathering etc. they are good producer of large brown shell egg and good quality meat. The lower neck feathers are distinctly tipped with black and the main tail feathers are black, edge with chestnut red. The under color of both the sexes is light salmon. The standard weight of cock is 3.8 kg, and of hen 2.9 kg. Cockerel 3.4 kg pullet 2.5 kg.

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