Shirina set up a poultry farm about eight to ten years ago. She has seen profits from it, but her losses have not been small either. Her farm still has layers, broilers, 'tiger' chickens, turkeys and many other breeds.

So Shirina has plenty of experience in raising chickens, and she brought financial comfort to her family by farming many different breeds. About two years ago she came across the black-coloured Kadaknath chicken. A farm of this breed is now her profitable venture, and raising Kadaknath chickens has changed Shirina's life.

Known as a chicken with medicinal qualities from Madhya Pradesh in India, the Kadaknath has now made it onto the list of the most expensive chickens in Bangladesh. A farm of this black breed is now in Bagmara, Rajshahi. Shirina, a housewife from Goalkandi village in the upazila's Goalkandi union, has set up the farm at her home. Her husband and two sons help her with the work.

The breed is said to originate from the island of Java in Indonesia, where it is called 'Ayam Cemani'. In Madhya Pradesh in India, the Kadaknath is known as 'Kalomasi' or 'Karaknath'. The bird's bones, meat, tongue and even claws are jet black. Its meat is tasty, has medicinal qualities and is expensive, and good profits can also be made from selling its eggs and chicks.

Shirina, a woman entrepreneur, said chicks of this breed hatch from the eggs in 21 days. She bought 22 chicks from Narsingdi at Tk 800 each and produces chicks with her own incubator. From the eggs of these 22 birds, her farm now has 250 chicks, and 80 to 100 new chicks are being added every week.

Shirina said she started selling chicks two months ago. A one-month-old chick sells for Tk 700–800, a chick of one and a half months for Tk 1,000, and a two-month-old chick for Tk 1,200–1,500. Feed costs for this breed are very low, and its nutritional content and disease resistance are many times higher than those of all other chickens.

Although the poultry industry is currently in a slump, she hopes to make more profit by raising Kadaknath. With proper support, she says, she could expand it greatly. Crowds come to her farm every day to see the new breed. For chickens and chicks, she can be contacted on 01302464631.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.