Updated: 3 October 2026
Match the bird to the system. For a free-range backyard flock, use a coloured ICAR variety such as Vanaraja, Gramapriya, Srinidhi or CARI-Nirbheek, which scavenge and lay roughly 100 to 200 eggs a year. For a broiler or layer shed, the chick is a commercial hybrid that your hatchery or integrator supplies.
The chart uses only figures published by the breeding institutes or, for hybrids, by the breeder. They are targets under good management, not a promise for your shed. See the poultry farming guide for housing and vaccines, and project cost for money.
Breed chart: weight, eggs and where chicks come from
| Bird | Purpose | Body weight | Eggs per year | Chick source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanaraja (ICAR-DPR) | Meat and eggs, free range | Males 1.5 to 1.8 kg at 12 weeks; adults 2.2 to 2.5 kg (male), 1.8 to 2.0 kg (female) | About 100 to 110, free range | ICAR-DPR parent stock; 3.17 lakh parent birds supplied to government agencies |
| Gramapriya (ICAR-DPR) | Layer type, free range | Males 1.5 to 1.8 kg at 15 weeks | About 150 to 160 under field conditions; brown eggs of 55 to 60 g | ICAR-DPR; 2.05 lakh parent birds supplied |
| Srinidhi (ICAR-DPR) | Meat and eggs | Males 1.6 to 1.8 kg at 12 weeks; adults 2.2 to 2.8 kg (male), 2.0 to 2.4 kg (female) | 140 to 150 under field conditions | ICAR-DPR; 14.6 thousand parent birds supplied |
| Krishibro (ICAR-DPR) | Meat, small intensive farms | About 1.5 kg at 6 weeks, 2.0 kg at 7 weeks; FCR 2.0 | Not a layer | ICAR-DPR; 8.0 lakh birds distributed |
| CARI-Nirbheek (ICAR-CARI) | Meat and eggs, coloured desi type | About 1,850 g (male) and 1,350 g (female) at 20 weeks | 170 to 200 eggs of about 54 g; laying starts at 170 to 180 days | ICAR-CARI, Izatnagar; chicks sold after 6 to 8 weeks of brooding and vaccination |
| Giriraja (UAS Bengaluru, 1989) | Backyard, meat and eggs | 3 to 6 kg adult, as quoted in a KVAFSU paper | 75 to 180 (very wide range) | No supplier named; ask the state animal husbandry department |
| Kadaknath | Black-meat niche bird | 920 g at 20 weeks; adult cock 1.5 to 2 kg, hen 1 to 1.5 kg | About 105 (the same GI file also says about 80); egg 49 g at 40 weeks; fertility 55%, hatchability 52% | No institutional supplier confirmed; the GI application ties the breed to Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh |
| Aseel | Native fighting breed | Not published | Not published | ICAR-DPR lists it only among native types under evaluation |
| Hy-Line W-36 (white-egg layer hybrid) | Commercial layer | 1.19 to 1.25 kg at 17 weeks; 1.55 to 1.61 kg at 70 weeks | Hen-housed 252 to 260 by 60 weeks; 456 to 472 by 100 weeks | Hatcheries and hybrid suppliers; Indian distributor not confirmed |
| Ross 308 (broiler hybrid) | Commercial broiler | 2,998 g at 42 days (as-hatched objective); FCR 1.531 | Not a layer | Hatcheries and integrators; the strain is usually their choice |
Which bird for which system
- Backyard, scavenging: ICAR-CARI advises 5 to 25 birds, depending on the open yard around the house. Feed grain mix for the first two to three days, then 35 to 40 g per bird a day, with the rest found by scavenging. Deworm every 2 to 3 months and sell males at 15 to 20 weeks. Nirbheek, Vanaraja, Gramapriya and Srinidhi are all bred for this.
- Desi eggs: Gramapriya (about 150 to 160) beats Vanaraja (about 100 to 110) on eggs, so the difference is 40 to 60 eggs a hen a year. Nirbheek is listed at 170 to 200.
- Desi meat: Vanaraja and Srinidhi males reach 1.5 to 1.8 kg at 12 weeks. For a faster bird in a small shed, ICAR-DPR offers Krishibro at about 2.0 kg in 7 weeks.
- Kadaknath: only with a buyer already lined up. Fertility of 55% and hatchability of 52% mean fewer chicks per egg set, and the bird is small.
- Broiler contract: the integrator supplies chicks, so the strain is its choice. Ask which hybrid it places and on what weight and FCR basis your payment is settled.
- Commercial layer shed: use a white-egg hybrid. W-36 is targeted at 252 to 260 eggs per hen housed by 60 weeks, against 150 to 160 for free-range Gramapriya. Free-range varieties do not replace a layer hybrid in a shed.
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Buying chicks
- Prefer ICAR centres, state poultry farms and Krishi Vigyan Kendras for desi varieties. ICAR-CARI reports supplying 13.35 lakh Nirbheek germplasm units in 20 years and ICAR-DPR reports supplying parent birds to government agencies, so ask whether your state farm or KVK sells chicks.
- Ask for the vaccination record. CARI vaccinates Nirbheek chicks for Marek's, Newcastle and fowl pox before sale at 6 to 8 weeks. Day-old chicks are cheaper but need brooding.
- Do not buy "pure" Kadaknath or Aseel from an unknown seller. The GI application ties Kadaknath to Jhabua, and no weight or egg figure is published for Aseel.
Reading the numbers
- Ages differ: 12 weeks for Vanaraja and Srinidhi, 15 for Gramapriya, 20 for Nirbheek and Kadaknath. Do not compare weights across rows without checking age.
- Hy-Line and Ross figures are breeder objectives for hybrids under good conditions, not field averages. Hy-Line reports hen-housed eggs to 60, 90 and 100 weeks, not 72.
- Giriraja and Kadaknath ranges are wide because the sources report different flocks and systems. Treat them as a spread, and check with the supplier. For subsidy on parent farms and hatcheries of these birds, see loan and subsidy.
Sources
- ICAR-DPR, chicken varieties (Vanaraja, Gramapriya, Srinidhi, Krishibro)
- ICAR, CARI-Nirbheek: Pride of Backyard Poultry Farming
- GI application, Jhabua Kadaknath Black Chicken Meat
- Mysore Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Giriraja chicken (KVAFSU, 2017)
- Hy-Line W-36 performance summary
- Aviagen, Ross 308 broiler performance objectives 2022