Spurt in demand for the fowls belonging to Giriraja breed has come as a boon for the small farmers of the district, who have found poultry rearing as an viable alternative to the traditional occupation in agriculture.
District Poultry Rearing and Training Centre in Gundlupet, is one among the seven government farms that breed Giriraja fowls, in Chamarajanagar district.
The farmers of Mandya, Ramanagar, Hassan and Mangaluru, who have taken up poultry farming as an alternative profession prefer one-day old chicken for breeding purposes.
The Zilla Panchayat has been allocating Rs two lakh funds for the training centre every year. The funds have been utilised for breeding Giriraja fowls, which are in great demand and are also fetching good prices.
As per the rate fixed by the government, one day old chicken is sold at Rs 15 each and Rs 50 for the fowls which are four-week old.
The centre in Gundlupet has sold about 20,000 chickens during the year 2013-14 and had set a target of selling 30,000 chickens for the year 2014-15. If the government allocates more funds for the centre, the production would also be increased to maintain the demand and supply chain.
According to the officials at the centre, the Giriraja breed were not in demand earlier. The farmers were of the opinion that fowls would not be able to evade dog attacks as their movements are slow compared to country fowls. But recently, the farmers are coming forward to buy these chicken for their own use to be bred at their farm houses. With the rate of chicken meat on the rise, more farmers from Kollegal and Chamrajanagar, are showing interest in rearing Giriraja fowls.
Dr Madesh, in-charge director, District Poultry Rearing and Training Centre, Gundlupet said that the Giriraja fowls in the centre is one year old. Hence, there are plans to bring fowls from other places for breeding purposes.