The AICRP on Poultry Breeding is in operation with the aim of developing location specific chicken varieties for backyard or free range farming in rural and tribal areas of the country by utilizing both indigenous and exotic chicken germplasm. The AICRP on Poultry Breeding has been re-oriented towards the rural poultry during XII plan with all 12 cooperating centres spread across the country focusing on the developing of location specific chicken varieties and their dissemination for village poultry besides conservation, improvement, characterization and application of local native, and elite layer and broiler germplasm.
Two layer strains (IWN and IWP) will be conserved at two centres and subjected to selective breeding through intra-population selection. The other layer lines (IWD, IWF, IWH, IWI, IWK and Control) are being conserved at ICAR-DPR, Hyderabad. The coloured broiler parent lines used in the AICRP are synthetic sire lines (PB-1, CSML), dam line (PB-2 and CSFL) and Control line. All the elite broiler strains will be conserved at respective centres and subjected to selective breeding through mass selection for 5 weeks body weight with due weightage for conformation traits in male lines and 5 weeks body weight and egg production with hatchability in female lines..