Choose your birds for what you plan to sell (eggs, meat or chicks) and for how you will keep them. Most country types and native breeds hatch their own chicks but lay few eggs; improved varieties from research institutes lay more, but they are not breeds and their hens rarely sit on eggs. This chapter shows how to decide, and compares the birds that have their own breed pages.
Start with what you will sell
- Meat. Raised in a shed on full feed, country chickens reach 1.1–1.3 kg on 3.5–4 kg of feed and are sold at 3–4 months of age (TANUVAS). Heavy native birds such as Aseel, whose cocks weigh about 4 kg as adults, are kept mainly for meat (ICAR-NBAGR).
- Eggs. Country hens lay only 60–70 eggs a year (TANUVAS), partly because they stop laying to sit on eggs and raise chicks (TANUVAS). For more eggs, look at an improved egg variety such as Gramapriya.
- Meat and eggs. Dual-purpose improved varieties such as Vanaraja and Srinidhi give eggs from the hens, while the young cocks are ready for market at about 12 weeks (ICAR-DPR).
- Chicks. To hatch and sell chicks, you need hens that sit on their eggs. Crossbred and improved hens generally do not, so farmers set their eggs under country hens (TANUVAS). See Hatching country chicken eggs: broody hen, incubator.
Country types and native breeds
Most village chickens in Tamil Nadu are local types, not distinct breeds, as TANUVAS notes, and no Tamil Nadu chicken is on NBAGR's breed register (TANUVAS, ICAR-NBAGR). The types farmers name include Peruvidai, which TANUVAS confirms is the Aseel (TANUVAS), the smaller Siruvidai, the naked neck, the frizzle and Karungozhi (Kadaknath): see Tamil Nadu's country chicken types.
Six registered breeds are raised in South India. Aseel, Ghagus, Kalasthi and Tellichery have their home tracts there; Kadaknath comes from Madhya Pradesh and Nicobari from the Nicobar Islands, and TANUVAS's Hosur college supplies both to farmers in the South (ICAR-NBAGR, TANUVAS). Most native hens sit on their eggs: NBAGR's breed records note it for Aseel, Ghagus, Kalasthi and Tellichery, but only "sometimes" for Nicobari (ICAR-NBAGR).
Improved varieties are not breeds
Research institutes have bred birds for backyards that grow faster and lay more than country hens: Vanaraja, Gramapriya and Srinidhi from ICAR-DPR in Hyderabad, and Giriraja from KVAFSU in Bengaluru (ICAR-DPR, KVAFSU). They are improved varieties, not breeds: none of them is on NBAGR's register (ICAR-NBAGR).
- Made for free-range backyards. After brooding, at 6 weeks, 10–20 birds per household can forage by day and sleep in a night shelter (ICAR-DPR). Where buyers want meat, Vanaraja can also be raised in a shed on balanced feed until market weight (TANUVAS review).
- Hens rarely sit. Crossbred and improved hens generally do not go broody (TANUVAS), so you will buy chicks again, or keep a few country hens to hatch eggs.
- Buy from the source. Improved varieties have no fixed look, so buy chicks from a hatchery that breeds or supplies them: see where to buy.
Broilers are a different business
Broilers, the fast-growing meat chickens of commercial poultry farms, reach a market weight of 1.8–2 kg in 5–6 weeks on about 3.5 kg of feed (UAS Bangalore). They are raised in batches, in sheds, on full feed. Many farmers grow them under contract: a company supplies the day-old chicks, feed and advice and buys back the grown birds at an agreed price, while the farmer provides the shed, equipment, water, electricity and labour (UAS Bangalore).
That is an intensive business with its own costs and risks, and this guide does not cover it. Country chickens grow far more slowly, but TANUVAS notes that they suffer from fewer diseases than broilers (TANUVAS).
Check what buyers near you want
Buyers differ from place to place. Before you choose:
- Visit your weekly market (santhai) and note which birds sell fastest: heavy cocks, laying hens, chicks or eggs.
- Ask traders, shops and other keepers which birds they buy, and for which festivals.
- Look at the asking prices in farmers' ads for chickens for sale in your district.
See How to sell country chickens: age, price and safe payment for when and where to sell.
Breeds and varieties compared
Figures come from breed records and research farms; birds in your yard will vary with feed and care. Each name opens its own page.
| Bird | Kind and home | Kept for | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aseel (Peruvidai) | Registered breed; home tract includes Khammam (Telangana) | Meat | Tall and heavy: cocks about 4 kg, hens about 2.6 kg; hens lay about 40 eggs a year in backyards and are good mothers |
| Ghagus | Registered breed; Kolar and Bengaluru (Karnataka), Chittoor and Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh) | Meat and eggs | Lighter: cocks about 2.2 kg, hens about 1.4 kg; about 52 eggs a year in villages |
| Kalasthi | Registered breed; old Chittoor, Kadapa and Nellore districts (Andhra Pradesh) | Meat | Bluish-black or brown; cocks about 2.5 kg, hens about 1.9 kg; about 34 eggs a year |
| Tellichery | Registered breed; Kozhikode, Kannur and Malappuram (Kerala), and Mahe | Meat | Black with a blue sheen; cocks 1.62 kg and hens 1.24 kg on average; about 72 eggs a year |
| Kadaknath (Karungozhi) | Registered breed; Jhabua and Dhar (Madhya Pradesh) | Meat | Dark skin, legs and flesh; small: cocks about 1.6 kg, hens about 1.1 kg; 85–90 eggs a year in NBAGR's record |
| Nicobari | Registered breed; Nicobar Islands | Eggs and meat | Very short legs; cocks about 1.8 kg, hens about 1.3 kg; about 149 eggs a year on average |
| Vanaraja | Improved variety; ICAR-DPR, Hyderabad | Meat and eggs | Multicoloured; 100–110 eggs a year in backyards; adult cocks 2.2–2.5 kg, hens 1.8–2.0 kg |
| Gramapriya | Improved variety; ICAR-DPR, Hyderabad | Eggs; young cocks for meat | Mostly brown; roughly 150–180 eggs a year in backyards; young cocks 1.5–1.8 kg at 15 weeks |
| Srinidhi | Improved variety; ICAR-DPR, Hyderabad | Meat and eggs | Many colours; 140–150 eggs a year in backyards; adult cocks 2.2–2.8 kg, hens 2.0–2.4 kg |
| Giriraja | Improved variety; KVAFSU, Bengaluru, 1989 | Meat and eggs | Coloured; about 140–150 eggs a year; adult cocks about 4–5 kg, hens about 3.5–3.75 kg; studies give different figures |
Sources: native breeds — ICAR-NBAGR, Aseel eggs — TANUVAS; ICAR-DPR varieties — ICAR-DPR, ICAR-DPR; Giriraja — UAS Bangalore, KVAFSU.
Find country chickens near you on Kattutharai
See country hens, roosters and chicks for sale direct from farmers near your village, with photos, the village name and the distance. No middlemen. Call or chat with the farmer, then see the birds and check them yourself before you pay.
Looking for a particular breed? Search its name in the Kattutharai app, for example Aseel (Peruvidai), Kadaknath or Giriraja.
Sellers' names and real breeds
- The breed name is the seller's word. "Peruvidai", "Kadaknath" or "Vanaraja" in an ad is a claim, and Kattutharai does not check it. In 2018, NABARD found hybrid chickens being sold as native chicken around Krishnagiri, Hosur and Bengaluru (NABARD).
- Crosses are common. In Tamil Nadu, Aseel-type birds and crossbreds are the birds most often raised (TANUVAS), and farmers keep both Aseel and Aseel crosses (TANUVAS). A cross can be a good backyard bird; just don't pay a breed price for it.
- "Desi" is a loose word. In their home areas, farmers simply call Ghagus, Kalasthi and Tellichery desi (ICAR-NBAGR).
- Check the signs. Each breed page lists them: an Aseel's tight, hard feathers, a Kadaknath's dark skin and purple comb, a Nicobari's very short legs. Improved varieties have no fixed look, so ask which hatchery the chicks came from, and see the parent birds if you can.
Common mistakes
- Buying improved birds and expecting the hens to hatch chicks.
- Paying a breed price for a bird whose breed you cannot confirm.
- Choosing a famous name that buyers near you do not ask for.
- Expecting many eggs from country hens: they lay 60–70 a year.
- Starting with broilers in a backyard set-up meant for country chickens.
Frequently asked questions
Which country chicken suits Tamil Nadu?
No single bird suits every farm. For meat and chicks, many farmers keep Peruvidai (Aseel) and its crosses; for more eggs, an improved variety such as Gramapriya; for both, Vanaraja or Srinidhi. Choose by what you will sell, how you will keep the birds and what buyers near you want.
Is Peruvidai the same as Aseel?
Yes. TANUVAS writes that the Aseel breed is the Peruvidai (TANUVAS).
Will improved varieties hatch their own chicks?
Usually not: crossbred and improved hens generally do not go broody (TANUVAS). Keep a few country hens to sit on the eggs, or use an incubator: see Hatching country chicken eggs: broody hen, incubator.
Are broilers country chickens?
No. Broilers are fast-growing commercial meat chickens, raised in batches in sheds on full feed. Country chickens grow slowly and are raised in backyards and small farms, often foraging by day.
Next
Next, read Buying country chicks safely: hatcheries, health and fraud to check chicks and birds before you pay, and to move them safely. To see which birds farmers near you are selling, browse chickens for sale.