Poultry Breeds in India — Desi, Backyard & Commercial

1. The three groups

Nearly every bird farmed in India falls into one of three groups, and the right choice depends far more on your production system than on the breed's reputation.

Indigenous (desi) breeds — evolved locally over generations. Hardy, disease-tolerant and excellent foragers, but low yielding. Best where inputs are minimal or where a premium market exists.
Improved backyard breeds — developed by ICAR and state universities by crossing desi hardiness with productive stock. The practical middle ground for rural rearing.
Commercial strains — highly selected hybrids for either eggs or meat. Very high output, but they need proper housing, formulated feed and strict health management to perform.

2. Breed comparison

Indigenous (desi) breeds
Breed	Origin	Type	Eggs / year	Notes
Aseel	Andhra Pradesh, Telangana	Meat	60–80	Hardy and disease-resistant, prized for meat quality and strength. Slow growing.
Kadaknath	Madhya Pradesh	Meat	80–110	Black meat, bones and blood from natural melanin. Commands a strong premium.
Chittagong	Eastern India	Dual	70–90	Very large framed bird, also called Malay. Good foraging ability.
Busra	Gujarat, Maharashtra	Dual	60–80	Small, light and extremely hardy under scavenging conditions.
Ankaleshwar	Gujarat	Dual	80–100	Well suited to backyard rearing with minimal inputs.
Nicobari	Andaman & Nicobar	Dual	120–140	Short-legged, resistant to heat and humidity, good backyard layer.

Improved backyard breeds
Breed	Origin	Type	Eggs / year	Notes
Vanaraja	ICAR (Hyderabad)	Dual	130–160	Multi-coloured, developed for rural backyard rearing. Good disease resistance.
Gramapriya	ICAR (Hyderabad)	Layer	180–200	Bred for free-range egg production in village conditions.
Giriraja	Karnataka (UAS Bangalore)	Dual	130–150	Fast growing dual-purpose bird, widely reared across South India.
Rajasri	Andhra Pradesh	Dual	130–150	Developed for backyard systems with low input requirements.
Krishibro	ICAR	Meat	—	Coloured broiler for rural rearing; better survivability than commercial strains.

Commercial breeds and strains
Breed	Origin	Type	Eggs / year	Notes
White Leghorn	Commercial layer	Layer	280–320	The backbone of commercial egg production. Lays white-shelled eggs, light feed intake.
BV-300 / Hy-Line / Lohmann	Commercial layer strains	Layer	290–330	Hybrid layer strains selected for peak persistency and feed efficiency.
Rhode Island Red	Dual purpose	Dual	200–250	Brown-egg layer, docile and adaptable; widely used in crossbreeding.
Australorp	Dual purpose	Dual	180–250	Calm black bird, reliable brown-egg layer, suits mixed farming.
Cobb / Ross / Vencobb	Commercial broiler	Meat	—	Reach roughly 2 kg in 35–42 days with an FCR near 1.5–1.7 under good management.

Egg figures are indicative ranges under reasonable management. Actual output varies with feed quality, housing, climate and disease pressure — management usually accounts for more variation than breed does.

3. Indigenous breeds in detail

Aseel

Native to the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana region, the Aseel is a tall, muscular bird known for exceptional meat quality and hardiness. It lays poorly — 60 to 80 eggs a year — and grows slowly, so it is kept for meat and for breeding into hardier crosses rather than for output. It tolerates heat and local disease pressure well.

Kadaknath

From the Jhabua region of Madhya Pradesh, Kadaknath is India's best-known black-meat breed. Natural melanin deposition turns the meat, bones and blood black. The meat is high in protein and low in fat, carries a Geographical Indication tag, and sells at several times the price of broiler meat — which is what makes a slow-growing, low-laying bird viable.

Other regional breeds

Chittagong (Malay) is a very large-framed eastern bird; Busra from Gujarat and Maharashtra is small and exceptionally hardy under scavenging; Ankaleshwar suits low-input backyard rearing; and Nicobari, from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, handles heat and humidity unusually well while laying better than most desi breeds.

Hardiness is not immunity. Indigenous breeds tolerate local conditions better, but they remain susceptible to Ranikhet (Newcastle disease), Marek's and fowl pox. Vaccination schedules apply to every breed.

4. Improved backyard breeds

These were developed specifically to lift rural poultry output without demanding commercial-grade inputs. They are usually multi-coloured, which helps them avoid predators far better than white commercial birds.

Vanaraja — dual-purpose, developed at the ICAR Directorate of Poultry Research, Hyderabad. Around 130–160 eggs a year plus useful meat weight, with good disease resistance.
Gramapriya — the layer-oriented counterpart, bred for free-range egg production at roughly 180–200 eggs a year.
Giriraja — from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. Fast growing and widely reared across South India.
Rajasri — developed in Andhra Pradesh for low-input backyard systems.
Krishibro — a coloured broiler for rural rearing, with markedly better survivability than commercial strains under village conditions.

5. Commercial strains

Layers

Commercial egg production runs almost entirely on White Leghorn-based hybrid strains such as BV-300, Hy-Line and Lohmann. A well-managed flock produces 280–330 eggs over a cycle of roughly 72–80 weeks, on light feed intake. These birds need proper cages or deep-litter housing, balanced feed and a strict vaccination programme.

Broilers

Cobb, Ross and Vencobb strains dominate meat production. Under good management they reach about 2 kg in 35–42 days with a feed conversion ratio near 1.5–1.7. Performance is very sensitive to brooding temperature, ventilation, stocking density and feed quality — a small lapse in the first week costs weight at market.

Dual-purpose

Rhode Island Red and Australorp sit between the extremes, laying 180–250 brown eggs a year while carrying enough weight to be worth selling for meat. Both are docile, adaptable, and commonly used in crossbreeding programmes to improve local stock.

6. Choosing a breed

Work backwards from your market and your inputs, in this order:

What are you selling? Eggs, meat, or both. That decides layer, broiler or dual-purpose before anything else.
What is your system? Scavenging and free-range point to improved backyard breeds; controlled housing with formulated feed points to commercial strains.
What will your market pay for? A premium or speciality market can carry an indigenous breed such as Kadaknath or Aseel. A commodity market cannot.
What is your climate? Heat and humidity favour indigenous and improved breeds unless you can control shed temperature.
Can you supply the inputs consistently? Commercial strains punish inconsistent feed and health management far harder than desi birds do.

Buy from a reliable source. Chick quality at day one sets the ceiling for everything that follows. Check the hatchery's vaccination record and parent-flock age before you commit to a batch.

7. Frequently asked questions

Which poultry breed is best for backyard farming in India?

For most backyard settings, an improved dual-purpose bird such as Vanaraja, Giriraja or Rajasri gives the best balance. They forage well, tolerate village conditions and low-input feeding, and produce both meat and a useful number of eggs. Pure commercial strains are not suited to scavenging systems.

Why is Kadaknath chicken so expensive?

Kadaknath is slow growing and produces fewer eggs than commercial breeds, so output per bird is low. Its distinctive black meat, high protein content and strong regional demand — it holds a GI tag from Madhya Pradesh — support a premium several times that of ordinary broiler meat.

What is the difference between a layer and a broiler?

Layers are selected for egg production. They are light-framed, eat less and lay for a cycle of roughly 72–80 weeks. Broilers are selected for rapid weight gain and reach market weight in about 5–6 weeks. The two are bred, fed and housed quite differently, and a bird bred for one purpose performs poorly at the other.

Which breed lays the most eggs?

Commercial White Leghorn-based hybrid layer strains lead on volume, at roughly 280–330 eggs per cycle. Among improved backyard birds, Gramapriya is the strongest layer at about 180–200 eggs a year. Indigenous desi hens typically lay 60–100.

Are desi (country) chickens more disease resistant?

Generally yes. Indigenous breeds such as Aseel and Busra have been selected over generations under local conditions and tolerate heat, humidity and variable feeding far better than commercial strains. That resistance comes at the cost of much lower egg and meat output. Vaccination remains essential regardless of breed.

How do I choose a breed for my farm?

Start from your market and your system. If you are selling eggs into a town market with proper housing and formulated feed, use a commercial layer strain. If birds will scavenge with minimal inputs, use an improved backyard breed. If you are selling into a premium or regional-speciality market, an indigenous breed such as Kadaknath or Aseel earns the higher price that offsets slower growth.