INTEGRATED SHEEP AND POULTRY UNIT

At KVK, Kalikiri, an IFS has been established in the year 2022 in a two tier model which can accommodate 40 sheep and 400 poultry birds, a brooding unit with a capacity of 400 chicks, an automatic egg incubator of 200 egg capacity and an acre of land for fodder cultivation.  In this, top floor has been occupying by sheep where as bottom floor has been occupying by poultry in such a way that sheep fecal pellets are dropped on bottom floor where they are naturally decomposed by scavenging of poultry and these fecal pellets are also serve as a source of feed for poultry at bottom floor. This tow tier model has advantages of easy cleaning, less labor requirement and natural well being of poultry (provision for scavenging.)

Here, poultry unit comprises of different breeds of backyard poultry like Ghagus, Kadaknath, Sri Nidhi and Vanaraja. Ghagus and Kadaknath breeds are being maintained as parent stock which can produce fertile eggs which are artificially incubated using an automatic egg incubator to produce chicks. And it also has facilities to provide day old chicks on pre booking, facility to raise day old chicks to one month and hatching of eggs on rental basis.

Whereas the sheep unit consists of Nellore Jodipi breed (20+1) as breeding stock which are reared in semi intensive farming type where sheep are allowed for grazing during day time and concentrate feed is being supplied at shed.

Fodder block has fodder varieties of both non legume and legume crops. Non legume fodder crops include fodder sorghum (CoFS – 29 and CSV – 33), Super napier, Fodder maize (African tall) and legume crops include hedge Lucerne, stylo haemata, fodder cowpea.