Indian state recommission poultry hatchery

The poultry industry in Kashmir, northwestern India, is to benefit from a newly recommissioned hatchery, and 360 new farms have been set up.

The hatchery's defunct incubators have been repaired and special power supply line has been laid to run it for 10 months a year at a cost of Rs49 lakh.

Officials said that poultry rearing space has also been created at the project site at a cost of Rs85 lakh under centrally-sponsored scheme.

Owned by the Poultry Development Project in Mattan, it has been recommissioned which has a hatching capacity of 12,000 chickens envisaging to cater to the farmer's demand of low-input technology birds for backyard rearing in Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian districts.

The department has planned to produce and supply poultry chickens of Vana Raja, Chabro and Kashmir Commercial Layers from the hatchery.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Animal Husbandry Department (AHD) has set up 360 poultry and broiler units in Anantnag.

Official sources said that the AHD has also set up 171 backyard poultry and 189 broiler units in the district during the last eleven months.

They said the department has sold 6,200 a-day-old chickens and 34,072 kilogrammes of poultry meat.

US$1 = Rp51.61 (Mar 6)