author(s)
Sandeep Kour, Nazam Khan, Rajesh Katoch and Sunil Kumar

abstract
A field level study was conducted to evaluate the impact of deworming on backyard poultry productivity (Vanraja/Chabro birds) in rainfed areas of Jammu region under different management and feeding regimen. Five villages namely Khara Madana, Sumbli, Badakhetra, Sangarh and Sol Takki villages were selected randomly from Samba district of Jammu region (2016-2019). One hundred forty beneficiaries were selected randomly (20 beneficiaries/village/year) from these villages and each beneficiary was provided unsexed ten to fifteen backyard birds (approx. 38-45 days old chicks) after imparting training and tips on backyard poultry rearing. The birds were dewormed with Fenbendazole powder @ 7.5 mg//kg body weight within 60-70 days of age as per convenience. The results revealed that during 2016-2017, dewormed Vanraja birds showed significantly higher body weight from 60 days onwards in comparison to untreated birds. However, mean body weight of dewormed Chabro birds remains unaffected except in Sumbli village at 160 days of age. Further it was found that Vanraja birds matured late and yielded higher eggs in comparison to Chabro birds. Whereas, in Chabro birds, average egg production was lower, but body weight gain was higher. It may be inferred that deworming improves body weight gain in backyard birds.