THRISSUR: Thriveni, a newly developed crossbred chicken, which is capable of producing about 205 eggs annually under an intensive system of rearing, will be formally released on Monday. Developed by the scientists at the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (CVAS), Mannuthy, the chicken also has a livability rate of more than 95%.
This new variety, which is also suited for backyard farming, is expected to contribute significantly to the efforts of the state to become self-sufficient in egg production, according to Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) vicechancellor Dr M R Saseendranath.
The production is 180 eggs per year under the backyard system of rearing. The hybrid is a cross of genetically improved egg-type ‘N’ strain of White Leghorn, Tellichery, the native chicken of Kerala and Rhode Island Red, a dual-purpose exotic breed.
The native chicken breeds were facing a threat of extinction in the backdrop of the widespread adoption of crossbreeding. KVASU recently won a national award for conserving the Tellichery chicken, which is among the 19 native breeds listed by India’s National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources.
The new breed is the outcome of seven-year research by a team of scientists comprising Dr P Anitha, Dr Binoj Chacko, Dr Beena CJoseph, Dr S Sankaralingam, Dr CS Suja and Dr S Harikrishnan. These birds have attractive multi-colour plumage with different patterns of black, red, white, and brown. The research was launched under the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Poultry Breeding of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The average body weight of the female at sexual maturity is 1.5kg, and the usual age to achieve it is about five months. The average egg weight is 52g, and the shell colour ranges from tinted to brown. Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development, Milk Cooperatives and Zoos, J Chinchu Rani, will release Thriveni at a function to be held at the CVAS.
A hi-tech Malabari goat breeding unit set up at the CVAS to distribute superior Malabari breeding stock to farmers will also be inaugurated at the function, to be presided over by revenue minister K Rajan. The unit has been set up at an outlay of Rs 52 lakhs under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana project. Chinchu Rani will also unveil the bust of Dr Verghese Kurien, at the Verghese Kurien Institute of Dairy and Food Technology, Mannuthy.
