Reclaiming endangered livelihoods: untold stories of indigenous women and backyard poultry

Abstract

Indigenous women of East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, India are unique in that they have over generations protected and bred the world-famous Aseel poultry and other local varieties. Birds managed under backyard systems contribute crucially to women's livelihood, and are of critical cultural importance in the lives of indigenous communities. A combination of factors has resulted in the fast decline of Aseel poultry populations in their traditional locations in the early 1990s. In the past decade, women have responded through multiple collective actions: to re-establish ecological and diverse cropping, which have provided vital by-products for feed for the poultry; apply modern and indigenous health care and management practices to prevent and control diseases; and innovate with traditional systems of asset building. All of these have helped to restore and sustain the breed, maintain livelihoods, and re-establish biological and cultural diversity.the area such as Nati kodi, Shankar jati kodi, Geesa kodi, Medajari kodi, Rencha kodi or Agees kodi, Denki kodi, Mattedu kodi and Juttu kodi. Among these, it is the Aseel that has historically been the breed of choice, valued for its tasty meat, cockfighting abilities, agility and ability to escape predators that frequent the forest regions.The Aseel has a short, broad breast, straight back and a close set strong tail root. The outstanding feature of this breed is the thick and long neck, long and slender face (without feathers), short beak, short, small comb, ear lobes and the absence of wattles. The legs are long, strong and straight and the bird has an upright and majestic gait. The plumage colouring is brilliant, as detailed by Girijana Deepika et al. (2002) and the Aseel cock comes in many colours: typically Dega (red plumage), Reza (golden and red spotted plumage), Massara (blue black), Poola Massara (spotted), Savala (white and black spots), Kaki (pure black), Petta maru (hen-like colouring), and Settuva (white). The preferred colours are Dega, Reza and Massara. The average weight of a 2-year-old full sized adult male ranges between 5-8 kg. The average weight of a hen is 3-4 kg.The Aseel have been traditionally bred for meat quality. With 36-60 eggs laid per year, it is not a prolific layer. The hen matures and begins to lay eggs at between 5-6 months of age, and lays 3-4 clutches per year, with each clutch having 10-12 eggs. It is evident that women are primarily interested in producing live birds, and not eggs, as indicated by Ramdas and Ghotge (1998). In these studies it was found that 95% -100% of total annual eggs laid by a bird are kept for hatching. There is higher consumption of eggs during summer (May), as high ambient temperatures leads to higher deterioration of eggs. Of the live birds that hatch and survive, between 60-70% are sold, 15-20% are consumed at home and the remaining 10-15% are kept as breeding stock to increase the flock.

Backyard poultry in Kabylie (Algeria): from an indigenous chicken to a local poultry breed?

“…Such a gender bias has been reported in many other developing countries (Gueye, 2007;Keambou et al, 2007;Ramdas, 2009). This bias is the rationale for the use of poultrykeeping programmes as a means of targeting women in poverty alleviation projects, an approach widely known as the "Bangladesh smallholder poultry model" (Jensen and Dolberg, 2003).…”

Morphological diversities and ecozones of Ethiopian horse populations

“…Number (n) and percentages (%) of different feather colours and distribution in local chicken in Kabylie. a gender bias has been reported in many other developing countries (Gueye, 2007;Keambou et al, 2007;Ramdas, 2009). This bias is the rationale for the use of poultrykeeping programmes as a means of targeting women in poverty alleviation projects, an approach widely known as the "Bangladesh smallholder poultry model" (Jensen and Dolberg, 2003).…”

Importance of Indigenous Breeds of Chicken for Rural Economy and Their Improvements for Higher Production Performance

“…Ramdas [ 52 ] reported that native women of East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, India, maintained over generations Aseel poultry and other local varieties. Birds managed under backyard system contribute crucially to women livelihood and are of critical cultural importance in the lives of native communities.…”