Vanaraja is a dual-purpose chicken variety developed by the ICAR-Directorate of Poultry Research (formerly Project Directorate on Poultry) in Hyderabad, India. Vanaraja is aimed a rural communitiesBreed data sheet: Vanaraja/India. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed February 2015. where it can be reared in backyard on natural, scavenged food with minimal supplementation. It produces eggs and meat based on rearing and feeding practices. Important features of this breed are multi-color feather pattern, immunity to disease, requiring less nutrition, growing faster, and producing more eggs.
Vanaraja give their best performance when reared free range. They each produce up to 110 eggs per year, and weigh at age 6 to months. Vaccination of native birds along with Vanaraja is recommended. Excess body weight may reduce egg production. Vanaraja are mainly found in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and are supplied to 26 states of India from ICAR-DPR, Hyderabad.
External links Backyard Poultry Farming of Vanaraja Breed: A Less Capital Enterprise, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Access: 25 February 2015.
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