Kuroiler

The Kuroiler is a hybrid breed of chicken developed in India. Kuroilers are derived from crossing either coloured broiler males with Rhode Island Red females, or, White Leghorn males crossed with female Rhode Island Reds.[1]

Characteristics

Kuroilers, a dual-purpose breed producing meat and eggs, can live on a diet of kitchen and agricultural waste, and produce around 150 eggs per year whereas native Indian hens lay only 40 per year. The meat yield per bird of Kuroilers is also greater; males weigh approximately 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) and females about 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) whereas the native male bird weighs 1 kg (2.2 lb) and females 0.9 kg (2.0 lb). Due to its unique genetic features, the Kuroiler is resistant to diseases. The kuroiler chick is a potential bio-converter of no cost agricultural, household and natural waste abundant in villages — into human protein food and substantial incomes for rural households.[2]

History

Introduced in the early 1990s, the breed was created by Vinod Kapur of Kegg Farms Private, ltd., and the name is a portmanteau of Kegg and Broiler.[1] [3] Rather than all being raised in a central hatchery,[1] Kuroiler eggs are hatched in more than a thousand "mother units" throughout the country, then are distributed down to the individual villages as day-old chicks.[4]

Kuroilers have become popular in rural areas of India, including Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Meghalaya and Uttarakhand. Large numbers of landless or smallholder farmers –primary women– breed these chickens as a full-time or part-time business.[5][5][6] Kuroilers have also been exported to countries such as Uganda with success.[7][8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Victoria Sandilands; Paul M. Hocking (1 January 2012), Alternative Systems for Poultry: Health, Welfare and Productivity, CABI, p. 119, ISBN 9781-78064-009-9
  2. ↑ http://www.kuroiler.com/en/
  3. ↑ "Saving the world", The Economist, March 12, 2009
  4. ↑ Simon Fairlie (2010), Meat: A Benign Extravagance, Chelsea Green Publishing, p. 135, ISBN 978-1-60358-325-1, retrieved 19 May 2013
  5. 1 2 Upendra Kachru (2011), India Land of a Billion Entrepreneurs, Pearson Education India, pp. 70–71, ISBN 978-81-317-5861-8, retrieved 19 May 2013
  6. ↑ The Role of Livestock in Developing Communities: Enhancing Multifunctionality, AFRICAN SUN MeDIA, 2010, p. 134, ISBN 978-0-86886-798-4, retrieved 19 May 2013
  7. ↑ "The benefits of rearing Kuroiler chicken", Daily Monitor
  8. ↑ "A new breed: Highly productive chickens help raise Ugandans from poverty", ASU News, Arizona State University
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