Backyard / Small Poultry Farmer – Agriculture and Food

1 Description of the job

A backyard poultry farmer raises a small flock of chickens or ducks for eggs and meat, usually alongside other farm work.

Build and clean low-cost poultry housing
Feed, vaccinate and look after the birds
Sell eggs and birds in the local market

As a Poultry Worker, you will work in poultry farms and will be involved in breeding and rearing of poultry animals such as chicken, duck, turkey, emu, goose, etc. to produce meat and eggs. Your primary work will involve ensuring appropriate feeding and taking care of animal health.

Your job will involve taking care of the feeding of the animals, clearing their litter and keeping their quarters clean and sanitised. You will ensure that animal diseases are prevented, they are provided medication to control diseases and they are healthy. You will examine their growth and weight gain.

Key Roles and Responsibilities:

As a Poultry Worker, you will be engaged with one or more of the following roles and responsibilities: -

Handling and management of the breeding stocks, or small birds and animals which are nurtured and grown in a poultry farm.
Rearingand ensure appropriate health care of the poultry animals.
Feeding of the poultry animals to ensure proper nutrition and growth.
Mixing additives, feed and medicines in definite prescribed amounts.
Cleaning the poultry animals’ living quarters and sanitise with the help of disinfectants and other chemicals.
Examining and inspecting the animals to identify diseases and to ensure proper growth and weight gain.
Inspecting the flock for diseases and removing dead/ill/weak birds.
Proper collection of eggs and recording the number of eggs that each poultry animal lays.
Maintaining as well as repairing machinery, equipment, layers, pens, buildings, fences and yards

2 Skills required

Poultry housing & feeding Basic vaccination & hygiene Marketing at village level Record keeping Patience Teamwork

You should have interests for Realistic Occupations. Realistic occupations involve more practical and hands-on activities than paperwork or office work. Realistic occupations often involve physical activities for getting things done using various tools and equipment.
You should have good hand-eye coordination.
You should have knowledge of Mathematics – basic arithmetic and related mathematical disciplines and their applications.
Factual knowledge of poultry and related matters such as health and hygiene of birds, disease prevention and vaccination of birds and market prices of poultry produce etc.
You should have manual dexterity – The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
You should have Physical Stamina - The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
You should have the required skills for handling birds and you should be able to operate farm machinery.
You should have Skills for Communication in Vernacular Languages - Skills in communicating effectively in writing as well as verbally with others in a local or indigenous language such as Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Bengali, Assamese, etc.
You always or mostly prefer to stick within a routine or carry out routine and repetitive activities.

3 Opportunities available in the market

Small poultry is a popular self-employment and women's livelihood activity backed by state animal-husbandry schemes.

Self-employment with training and bank loans
Contract farming with poultry companies
Hatcheries and feed companies

4 Salary range

Fresher (0–2 yrs)Income varies with flock size (about ₹8,000 – 20,000 / month

Mid-level (3–8 yrs)₹20,000 – 40,000 / month

Senior / specialistCommercial scale: higher

Indicative only. These ranges are estimates compiled from general industry knowledge and public pay surveys, not audited figures. Actual pay depends on the employer, city, qualification, certifications and experience. Check current job listings before deciding.

5 Job openings — which states have more

#	State	Main hubs	Demand
1	Bihar Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur	Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur	High demand
2	Uttar Pradesh Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi	Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi	High demand
3	West Bengal Kolkata, Siliguri	Kolkata, Siliguri	Medium demand

Indicative ranking of where employers and training institutions in this field are concentrated — not an official count of vacancies. Check the National Career Service portal (ncs.gov.in) and the government job portal for current openings.

Government job portal: National Career Service (ncs.gov.in)

Current openings — BiharCareer

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