Country chickens suit you if you have a little space round your house or farm, someone to let the birds out every morning and shut them in safely every night, and a way to keep snakes and other predators out. Start with a small flock of birds that are already 4–6 weeks old, learn for a season, then grow from your own chicks. This chapter helps you check each of these before you spend money.
Is it right for you?
Country chickens are a good fit if most of these are true:
- You have a yard, a garden or a coconut grove where birds can forage, or room for a small shed.
- Someone in the family is at home every morning and evening, every day of the year.
- You can build a night shelter that snakes, mongooses, cats and rats cannot enter.
- There are buyers nearby: a weekly santhai, shops, or neighbours who want country chickens.
- A veterinary dispensary is within reach for vaccination days and when birds fall sick.
Backyard, semi-intensive or a small farm
TANUVAS describes these ways of keeping country chickens (TANUVAS); Tamil Nadu's subsidy scheme adds a 250-bird unit (Tenkasi):
| System | Birds | What you need | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backyard | 10–20 | A night shelter; birds forage round the house by day | A family with a yard; low cost and low return |
| Semi-intensive | 50–100 | A shed at night, and a garden or coconut grove by day | Farmers with some land and time |
| Small farm (Tamil Nadu scheme) | 250 | A shed on at least 625 sq ft of your own land | People with experience |
| Intensive, on deep litter | 1,000–5,000 | Full feed and vaccination; birds sold in batches | A business, not a first flock |
More on each system: how country chickens are raised.
How many birds to start with
- 10–20 birds is the right size for a household: ICAR-DPR suggests 10–20 birds a home, as space and the food the birds find allow (ICAR-DPR). TANUVAS says about 20 country chickens can sleep in one night coop (TANUVAS).
- Grow from your own chicks. Country hens sit on their eggs and raise chicks; crossbred and improved birds generally do not (TANUVAS). Keep good hens and a cock, and the flock can grow without buying more birds. See Hatching country chicken eggs: broody hen, incubator.
- Bigger units later. The 250-bird scheme unit and semi-intensive flocks need a proper shed, more feed and more money; try them after a season or two with a small flock. Broilers are a different business: see Country chicken breeds: choosing birds for eggs or meat.
Space and site
- Space in a shed: about 1 sq ft for each bird raised for meat and 2 sq ft for each laying hen (TANUVAS).
- The night shelter needs good air flow, some light and protection from predators. Wooden and bamboo shelters hide lice and mites, so clean them regularly (ICAR-DPR).
- The site: raised ground that does not flood, clean water, electricity and a road, away from where people live (TANUVAS). The Tamil Nadu scheme asks for at least 625 sq ft of your own land for 250 birds, away from homes and water (Tenkasi).
- Predators: snakes, mongooses, cats, rats and birds of prey. In backyards, TANUVAS says, more chicks are lost to snakes and birds of prey than to disease (TANUVAS).
More detail: Country chicken housing: shelter, space and litter.
Register your farm
In April 2025 the central Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying directed all poultry farms to register with their state animal husbandry department (PIB). Ask your veterinary dispensary how to do it. Bigger farms also need the state pollution control board's consent, and the bird count differs by state: in Kerala, the board says farms with more than 100 birds need its consent (Kerala PCB). Read the rules for poultry keepers before you build a big shed.
Time every day
Chickens need someone twice a day, every day, on festival days and in the rain too:
- Morning: give clean water before you let the birds out (ICAR-DPR), look at every bird, and collect the eggs.
- Evening: give 20–30 g of grain a bird, count the birds and shut them in safely.
- Every day: clear the droppings where the birds roost (TANUVAS), and write down the feed, eggs and any deaths in a notebook (TANUVAS).
- Every few months: deworming and vaccination, as your vet advises. Vaccine packs are made for 200–500 birds, so small keepers use the government's vaccination days and camps (TANUVAS).
Plan who will open and shut the shelter when you are away; a flock cannot be left alone for even one night. See Country chicken health: vaccination schedule and deworming.
Start with brooded birds
- Day-old chicks need a nursery. They need warmth, the right feed and protection from predators, and ICAR-DPR keeps them in a nursery for 4–6 weeks before they go out to range (ICAR-DPR). That is a skill to learn later: see Brooding country chicks: heat, feed, first 6 weeks.
- So buy birds that are 4–6 weeks old for your first flock. TANUVAS's Trichy centre sells country chicks of 4–5 weeks at ₹80–120 each (TANUVAS), and Tamil Nadu's scheme gives its farmers chicks at 4 weeks (Policy Note 2026-27).
- Keep new birds apart from any birds you already have for 30 days (Bird flu plan).
Before you buy, read Country chicken breeds: choosing birds for eggs or meat and Buying country chicks safely: hatcheries, health and fraud.
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.
Money: what you will spend on
List every cost before you start: the chicks, the night shelter or shed, feeders and drinkers, grain and feed, vaccination, and electricity if you brood chicks. Keep money aside for feed until your first sales. Country chicken farming costs and income: a worked example works through examples for a backyard flock and the 250-bird unit, and Country chicken subsidy, loans and insurance in 2026 explains the subsidy and loans.
Learn before you buy
- Take a course. TANUVAS's 2026-27 list has Backyard Poultry Rearing and Free Range Chicken Farming for beginners, and Mini Hatchery Operations and Poultry Vaccinator for later (TANUVAS). Register through the TANUVAS farmers' page.
- Visit a centre. TANUVAS centres such as the one at Trichy train farmers in country chicken rearing at the centre, and supply chicks (TANUVAS). Your nearest Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) can help too.
- In the other southern states, ask your district's KVK or the state veterinary university: KVAFSU in Karnataka, KVASU in Kerala, SVVU in Andhra Pradesh and PVNRTVU in Telangana.
- Keep your certificate. The Tamil Nadu scheme is for people skilled in country chicken rearing, and loan forms ask about your experience.
- When in doubt, ask the nearest TANUVAS training centre or your vet (TANUVAS).
Common mistakes
- Starting with hundreds of birds before you have learnt the work.
- Buying day-old chicks without a brooder or a broody hen to keep them warm.
- A shelter with gaps that snakes, rats or mongooses can get through.
- Mixing newly bought birds with your flock on the first day.
- Missing vaccination days at the veterinary dispensary.
Frequently asked questions
How many chickens should a beginner start with?
About 10–20. ICAR-DPR suggests 10–20 birds a household, and TANUVAS says about 20 country chickens fit in one night coop.
Should I buy day-old chicks or older birds?
For your first flock, birds of 4–6 weeks. Day-old chicks first need 4–6 weeks of warmth and care in a nursery, which is a skill to learn.
Do I need to register my chickens?
All poultry farms were told in April 2025 to register with the state animal husbandry department; ask your veterinary dispensary how. Bigger farms also need the pollution control board's consent.
How much space do country chickens need?
In a shed, about 1 sq ft for each meat bird and 2 sq ft for each laying hen. Backyard birds forage outside by day and need a safe night shelter.
Next
Next, read Country chicken breeds: choosing birds for eggs or meat. To see what farmers near you are selling, and their asking prices, browse chickens for sale.