Coimbatore: Foodies are increasingly abandoning mass-bred broiler chicken for nattu kozhi,
the native breeds, which are said to be more tastier and healthier as they are reared in free-range farms. But a group of veterinarians, who visited a successful nattu kozhi farm at Senjeripet here recently,
found the owner rearing the birds in a shed.
More and more poultry farmers, who were into broiler farming in the region, are now rearing nattu kozhi breeds in the old sheds. “Nattu kozhi breeds should be allowed to graze and roam freely for at least a few hours a day, feeding on their surroundings,” said professor and head of the University Training Centre at Saravanampatti K Sivakumar. “However, many farmers are rearing native chicken in sheds, which make them panna kozhi, not nattu kozhi,” he told TOI.
Farmers, who started farming native breeds only recently, are the ones who prefer sheds. “While it is easy to look after 3,000 to 4,000 broiler chicken housed in sheds, managing several free-range birds require additional manpower. It is not easy to control their movement if they are out in the open. They may wander off into neighbouring farms,” said Raveendran, who recently began to rear native breeds.
However, both panna kozhi and nattu kozhi fetch the same price, farmers said. “Compared to broiler chicken, which we sell for just Rs 80 per kg, native birds sell for Rs 300 per kg. Buyers know how we farm because they pick up the birds from the farm. They offer the same price for both,” said Raveendran.
However, panna kozhi farmers said growing the birds in the shed is more difficult. “They often attack each other. You have to buy costly feed for them. Diseases spread quickly,” said Manikandan, an Annur-based farmer, who has both panna kozhi and nattu kozhi. “I let them graze between 9am and 5.30pm and put them in the shed only in the evenings to protect them from birds of prey and stray dogs.”
“In the last five years, at least 15 panna kozhi farms have come up in Annur. But they get a lower price than pure nattu kozhi or at least partially free-ranging nattu kozhi,” Manikandan said.
Rajesh Kumar, assistant block technology manager with Agricultural Technology Management Agency, an NGO that conducted a training programme on nattu kozhi farming for 15 broiler chicken farmers of Senjeripet recently, said they encourage farmers to rear native breeds in sheds. “Native birds, which are allowed to mature naturally over four months, are any day healthier than broiler chicken, which are injected with hormones and antibiotics. Though native breeds are reared in sheds, the farmers feed them maize, sorghum and azolla. They are not made to grow faster artificially or fed artificial feeds. So their meat is more healthy.”
Veterinary experts said the nutrition value, including content of protein and vitamins, would be same in free-range chicken and shed-farmed chicken. “However, nattu kozhi meat has a peculiar flavour and texture. Most of the birds farmed in sheds are crossbreeds between native and broiler chicken or native and layer chicken,” said Sivakumar. “In Indian cooking, we add so many spices that the difference in flavour is not too obvious. Also, panna kozhi is definitely less expensive than pure nattu kozhi.”
