Shashidhar Gowda was handling the currency distribution of two telecom companies in Hassan till last year. However, one fine day, he quit his job, closed the establishment and started a country chicken farm ( nati koli ). “Now I am happy. No need to struggle to achieve targets set by others. I set my own targets,” he told The Hindu on Friday.
Last year, he launched a country chicken farm near Byrapura, near Alur, along with a friend as partner. They together invested about Rs. 6 lakh and earned a return of about Rs. 9 lakh, after about six months.
“The experience I got there prompted me to set up a similar farm on my own land. This time, we invested Rs. 25 lakh,” he said. At Sri Lakshmi Farm at Salagame in Hassan taluk, Mr. Shashidhar runs a poultry, sheep and rabbit farm.
“There is a huge demand for country varieties of chicken and sheep. I bought 2,000 chicks from a hatchery at Bengaluru for Rs. 50 each. In the last six months, I have sold about 700 chicken and hundreds of eggs,” he said. Country chicken meat is priced at about Rs. 250 a kg in the market and the eggs are sold at Rs. 10 each. Businessmen purchase chicken and sheep directly from his farm and he doesn’t have to search for buyers.
Similarly, country-variety sheep is in good demand. Mr. Shashidhar has cultivated hybrid Napier grass (Co3) for the sheep. “For the chicken, we provide special food comprising wheat, maize and jowar. In order to keep them healthy, chickens are vaccinated and provided with medicines at regular intervals. So far, no animal has died of ill-health in our farm,” he said.
The initial investment, he said, was huge because he had to spend a lot on fencing and construction of sheds. “I am sure, whatever I earn in the next four years will be a return of my initial investment and from then on, I will start making profits,” he said.
