10 chicken breeds worth raising in India today

"Best chicken breed in India" has no single answer, because the best bird for a backyard household, a meat trader and a breeder are three different animals. What follows is a practical list: the native breeds registered with ICAR-NBAGR that buyers actually recognise, plus the improved varieties that state departments distribute. Match the breed to the job and everything else gets easier.

The ten, at a glance

Ten Indian chicken breeds with home tract and main use

Breed	Home tract	Eggs / year*	Best for
Aseel	Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh	90–120	Breeding stock, high-value cocks
Kadaknath	Madhya Pradesh (Jhabua)	~105	Premium black-meat niche
Ghagus	Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka	~54–110	Hardy backyard layer
Nicobari	Andaman & Nicobar	~80	Disease-resistant island bird
Tellicherry	Kerala	~90	Large frame, meat
Harringhata Black	West Bengal	45–90	Small household flock
Miri	Assam	~60	North-east backyard system
Busra	Gujarat, Maharashtra	~45–55	Hardy local meat bird
Kashmir Favorolla	Jammu & Kashmir	~55	Cold-climate backyard bird
CARI-NIRBHEEK	ICAR-CARI (improved)	170–200	Dual-purpose backyard flock

*Published figures vary widely between studies, management systems and whether brooding is included. Treat these as ranges, not guarantees.

1. Aseel — the one people pay for

Aseel is a game-type bird from the Telugu-speaking belt, with a home tract across Khammam in Andhra Pradesh, Koraput and Malkangiri in Odisha and Bastar in Chhattisgarh. It is built for presence: broad chest, upright stance, long hard shanks, tight feathering, slow growth and a famously confident temperament.

It is a poor commercial layer and a slow grower, and none of that matters — Aseel is bought for frame, bloodline and the fact that a good cock cannot be produced quickly. Prices run from ₹5,000 to ₹25,000 at our farm; the price guide explains what moves that number. Colours vary from red to black to silver-white.

2. Kadaknath — the black-meat bird

From Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh, Kadaknath is the breed with black skin, black meat and greyish eggs, marketed heavily on the belief that it is healthier. It lays around 100 eggs a year, grows slowly, and commands a large premium in cities. The premium is real; so is the difficulty of scaling it, because the birds are small and demand outstrips honest supply.

3. Ghagus — the quiet workhorse

Found in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Ghagus is a modest, hardy bird that does the job most households actually need: survives on scraps, lays a respectable number of small brown eggs, and tastes like chicken should. Egg figures reported in the literature range from about 54 to over 100 a year, which tells you more about management than about the breed.

4. Nicobari — the survivor

From the Nicobar Islands, Nicobari is prized for disease resistance and the ability to tolerate heat and humidity. It is small, lays well for a native bird, and is one of the few breeds that thrives under near-zero input. If your priority is a flock that survives rather than one that finishes fast, this is the type to study.

5. Tellicherry — size from Kerala

Tellicherry (also spelled Tellichery) is a large, leggy bird from northern Kerala, once kept for both meat and the long hackle feathers used in fishing flies. It is slower than improved varieties but carries more frame than most native breeds — useful where buyers want a big bird for a function.

6. Harringhata Black — small and efficient

A West Bengal breed, mostly black with occasional brown in the neck and wings. It is small, lays small eggs and produces modestly, and is best understood as a household bird: cheap to keep, quick to mature, fits a small backyard.

7. Miri — Assam's backyard standard

Miri is one of several registered north-eastern breeds (with Daothigir and Chittagong) that underpin backyard poultry across the north-east, where the sector supplies a large share of household protein. Hardy, well adapted to humid conditions, and best kept in the system it evolved in.

8. Busra — Gujarat and Maharashtra

A small, tough native bird with modest egg numbers and a strong local following. It is not a breed you scale commercially, but it is exactly what a marginal household needs: low input, decent survival, acceptable meat.

9. Kashmir Favorolla — for the cold

A fancy-looking bird from Jammu and Kashmir with a crest, beard and feathered feet. It tolerates cold that would kill a tropical breed, lays around 55 eggs a year, and is kept as much for appearance as for production. Niche, but genuinely useful in hill districts.

10. CARI-NIRBHEEK — the practical cross

Not a native breed, but the variety most worth knowing: an Aseel × CARI Red cross from ICAR-CARI, released in 2003–04, laying 170–200 eggs a year while looking and behaving like a desi bird. For a backyard flock that needs both eggs and meat without a controlled shed, it is the benchmark. Full details in our CARI-NIRBHEEK guide.

How to choose

• Household eggs and meat: Ghagus, Harringhata Black, CARI-NIRBHEEK.
• Premium meat sales: Aseel crosses for frame, Kadaknath for the black-meat niche.
• Survival on minimal input: Nicobari, Busra, Miri.
• Breeding and high-value cocks: Aseel, and only Aseel.
• Cold climates: Kashmir Favorolla.

Whatever you pick, buy from a known hatchery or breeder with vaccination records. A cheap bird of unknown origin is the most expensive purchase in poultry — see our checklist for spotting a real desi bird.