Charka Chicken: An Adapted Indigenous Poultry Resource for Sustainable Livelihoods in Jharkhand

Abstract

Indigenous chickens constitute an important component of smallholder and backyard production systems in India, particularly among resource-constrained rural and tribal households. Their importance extends beyond egg and meat production, as they provide household food, supplementary income and a readily available livestock asset while requiring relatively low external inputs. The present study was undertaken to document the production system, population status, selected phenotypic characteristics, egg production, ranging behaviour and survivability of Charka chicken, an indigenous chicken population of Jharkhand, India. Charka chicken was distributed mainly across the Santhal Pargana, North Chotanagpur and Kolhan regions, covering an estimated geographical area of approximately 45,000 km². The estimated population during 2022–2025 was approximately 1.70 lakh birds. The population was predominantly characterized by solid white plumage, accounting for >75.0% of the observed birds, although a black plumage variant was also recorded. The average household flock size was 4.25 birds, with chicks constituting the major component. Birds were predominantly maintained under backyard and free-ranging conditions and relied substantially on scavenging and locally available feed resources. Annual egg production ranged from 35 to 70 eggs per hen, indicating a modest but useful contribution to household egg availability under traditional management. Charka chickens exhibited good ranging ability, with mean flight distance and flight height of 37.26 and 7.77 ft, respectively, while adult cocks maintained an average territory radius of 115.54 ft. Mortality was highest during 0–1 week (23.62%) and progressively declined with age, reaching 10.49% during 6–12 months. The ability of Charka chickens to maintain flocks, produce eggs and survive under low-input conditions indicates substantial local adaptation. The population therefore represents a valuable indigenous poultry resource for rural food security, supplementary livelihood generation and conservation of locally adapted genetic diversity in Jharkhand