Hyderabad: The price of chicken has increased by about 10 per cent after Friday’s thunderstorm damaged poultry farms on the city outskirts.
From Rs 220 per kg, it has increased to Rs 240; the prices vary in different areas. Chicken is generally cheaper in community markets.
Mr Syed Ruknuddin of Eagle Poultry, whose farm near Shamshabad breeds over 40,000 birds, said, “The asbestos roof came crashing down on Friday, killing 5000 birds. Even the watchman’s roof collapsed in the wind.”
“Earlier, due to the extreme heat in April, thousands of birds had died and supply was short. From a batch of 10,000 birds, 5,000-8,000 die in summer and production is extremely low,” he said. The cost per chick per day is Rs 30, and it takes 50 days to mature, he said.
Most of Hyderabad’s chicken stock comes from poultries in Vikarabad, Shadnagar, Gajwel and Siddipet. There are a few in Shamshabad too.
Mr Mohd Abdul Lateef, member of the Bidar Poultry Association and a supplier to the city, said, “The recent rain killed 15-20 per cent of birds in farms located in the outskirts. Usually birds are not kept under RCC roofs but asbestos, and the sheds crashed on the birds due to the wind. Also during summer, due to unavailability of water, many birds die and their growth is less. I breed around 2.5 lakh birds and supply to neighboring states too.”
On Monday morning too there were showers and the city recorded 3.4 mm of rain till 8.30 am. It also rained in various parts of the city throughout the day. Though the maximum temperature recorded was 38.6ºC, it felt cooler.
