Mahmuda Akhter Mukta (35) lived in Dhaka with her husband. He was dying from home, he was also getting sick. So two years ago, Bholar moved to the village house of Dakshin Dighaldi. After coming home bought two native chickens to eat. But the chicken kept on breeding without eating. Within a few days, both hens started laying eggs. Encouraged by this, he focused on raising chickens. Thanks to him, he now has about 1500 domestic chickens. And every month the income is more than 30 thousand rupees.

About 1500 male and female farmers like Mahmuda in Bhola district headquarters and Daulatkhan upazila are now rearing native chickens in their backyards. The success rate of farmers is more than 70 percent. They cite feeding the chickens with native wheat-rice, vegetables and a high-protein food called ‘Black Soldier Fly’ as the reason for their success. It keeps the taste of the meat right. As a result, good prices are available.

Mahmuda Akhtar’s chicken farm in three rooms at home. He told Prothom Alo that one-day-old chicks are sold at Tk 50-60 each, one-and-a-half kg chickens at Tk 450-500 per kg. The largest room on the farm houses incubator machines, food preparation equipment and laying hens and roosters. There are about 400 egg-laying hens and roosters. An average of 70 eggs are available per day. 400 eggs are placed in the incubator machine at a time for hatching.

Mahmuda said, he started this farm after watching YouTube. However, Bhola’s Rural Public Development Society (GJUS) and the Department of Livestock gave him a one-day training. Besides, a doctor from GJUS regularly visits the farm and gives advice. Mahmuda said, ‘I want to make my farm bigger. I have taken a few acres of land on lease for this. I will plant rice, vegetables and grass there in addition to the farm.

Sufia Begum of Dakshin Balia village of North Dighaldi Union of Upazila has done chicken and pigeon farming. Her husband Ghiyasuddin Masud is a teacher in Government Primary School. After training from GJUS, he started a domestic chicken and pigeon farm a year ago. Now he has 30 pairs of pigeons and 350 chickens in his farm. He said that 35 to 40 percent profit is made in all.

District Livestock Officer Indrajit Kumar Mandal told Prothom Alo that free training and local chickens are being distributed among the farmers. For this, a project to increase domestic chicken production is underway in Borhanuddin, Lalmohan and Charfashan upazilas of Bhola.