The Giriraja is a breed of chicken developed by

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

Veterinary Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

, Animal, and Fishery Sciences University in Bengaluru, India. Giriraja females lay a large number of eggs, 130–150 per year, with each egg weighing 52–55 grams. The eggs have a good hatchability (80–85 per cent), and enable farmers to raise their own stock. Their shells are brown in color and thicker than that of other commercial eggs, and resist breaking. The birds exhibit better growth compared to local varieties, and are suited for mixed and backyard farming. For backyard rearing, a flock of five hens and one rooster is ideally grown. No special care is required to grow them. They can be raised as

free range Free range denotes a method of farming husbandry where the animals, for at least part of the day, can roam freely outdoors, rather than being confined in an enclosure for 24 hours each day. On many farms, the outdoors ranging area is fenced, ...

birds and can be fed with locally available materials. Being good scavengers, they feed on a variety of insects and green

foliage A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, s ...

. They can also be fed on farm and

kitchen waste A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a ...

. The birds are resistant to many diseases, an exception being

Ranikhet Ranikhet ( Kumaoni: ) is a hill station and cantonment town, nearby Almora Town in Almora district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the home for the Military Hospital, Kumaon Regiment (KRC) and Naga Regiment and is maintained by the In ...

(also called Newcastle disease, is a contagious and highly fatal viral disease caused by paramyxoviruses) disease. A day-old chick weighs 42–45 g.

References

Chicken breeds originating in India {{poultry-stub