Nutrition and income through backyard poultry-Killo Lakshmi, Goyyagunta, G Madugula

Egg and poultry meat production in this region primarily relies on traditional backyard poultry farming with indigenous breeds. In tribal communities, eggs and poultry meat serve as the major sources of protein. Although most families rear backyard poultry, a local taboo prevails — only male members are allowed to consume the eggs and meat, while women and girls eat the leftovers or sometimes none at all. This has led to protein deficiency and malnutrition, especially among adolescent girls and pregnant women. To address this, BCT KVK increased the number of birds in each household to enhance egg production and thus improve access for all family members. After conducting a one-day training program on backyard poultry rearing under TSP, 5 Aseel birds (1 male and 4 female) of one-month age were distributed to selected tribal women. Mrs. Killo Lakshmi was one of the beneficiaries. After receiving the birds, she began rearing them using the conventional backyard poultry system. As the birds matured, the hens began laying eggs. She utilized some to feed her pregnant daughter-in-law and kept others for brooding using a broody hen. This led to a gradual increase in poultry numbers. This has increased her income and family health as well.

During regular visits by BCT-KVK scientists, Mrs. Lakshmi shared her happiness at being able to provide protein-rich food to her pregnant daughter-in-law and later to her grandchild, all from her backyard poultry. She also expressed pride in earning enough to buy clothes and toys for her grandchild with the income from selling eggs and birds. Motivated by this success and income from 2nd laying cycle, she decided to expand her poultry rearing by reserving more eggs for brooding and conserved eggs to place under brooding hens in the alternate cycles. She built a wooden shelter to accommodate the growing flock with locally available materials and began maintaining a cleaner environment around it. She adopted ethno-veterinary practices learned during the training and ensured that the birds were well-fed in the evenings to support better scavenging during the day. Her success story highlights how a small intervention can create a meaningful impact on nutrition, income, and empowerment in tribal communities.