Scheme for Establishment of Backyard Poultry Units

What is the backyard poultry unit scheme in Haryana?

Scheme for Establishment of Backyard Poultry Units is a small, in-kind scheme of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Haryana, listed among the department's direct benefit transfer schemes on the Haryana State DBT portal.

According to the Economic Survey of Haryana 2025-26, the department is running a scheme of providing 50 chicks of 10 days old of low input poultry breed free of cost to the economically weaker sections of society to uplift the nutritional and economic status of their families.

Verified performance

Out of an allotted budget of Rs 90 lakh, an amount of Rs 62.34 lakh had been utilised during the current year at the time of the survey.

This is deliberately a modest scheme. Fifty birds in a courtyard are not a commercial poultry farm; they are a household nutrition and pocket-income measure. A low input backyard flock typically supplies eggs for the family with a surplus to sell locally, and cockerels can be sold for meat. Because the birds scavenge and eat kitchen waste, feed cost stays close to zero, which is exactly why the "low input" breed is specified rather than a commercial layer strain that needs balanced feed and a controlled shed.

Who is eligible for a backyard poultry unit?

You can be considered if:

• You belong to an economically weaker section family, which Haryana establishes from the verified income recorded in your Parivar Pehchan Patra (Family ID).
• You are a resident of Haryana.
• You have a safe backyard, courtyard or enclosure where 50 birds can be kept and protected from dogs and predators.
• You are able to look after the birds yourself. This is a household activity, not an outsourced one.

You cannot apply if:

• You are not a resident of Haryana.
• Your Family ID income places you outside the economically weaker section the scheme is meant for. Well-off households are not eligible.
• You want the benefit in cash. The scheme gives chicks, not money, so a cash request has no basis.
• You are looking for commercial poultry finance. A 50-bird backyard unit is not intended to start a broiler or layer business; commercial poultry needs bank finance and a separate route.
• You have no space to keep birds, for example a household living in a rented room with no courtyard.

The scheme carries no caste restriction of its own. It targets economic weakness rather than a specific category. Households that also fall in the Scheduled Caste category may separately qualify for the department's much larger Scheduled Caste livestock unit and sheep/goat unit schemes.

What documents are required?

How to apply for a backyard poultry unit

1. Check your Parivar Pehchan Patra at meraparivar.haryana.gov.in and make sure the family income and members are correct and verified. Haryana reads eligibility for economically weaker section benefits from this record, so an incorrect income entry will keep you out of the list.
2. Visit your nearest government veterinary hospital or dispensary and ask the Senior Veterinary Surgeon or Veterinary Livestock Development Assistant whether backyard poultry units are being distributed in your block this year. Haryana runs 2,884 veterinary institutions, so there is one within reach of most villages.
3. Apply in writing at the office of the Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry and Dairying in your district, attaching your Family ID, Aadhaar and residence proof, and collect a dated receipt with a diary number. Applications for Haryana state schemes can also be filed at an Antyodaya SARAL centre or on saralharyana.gov.in, which gives a trackable reference number.
4. Prepare the space before allotment. Field staff check that there is a protected enclosure before releasing a unit, since chick mortality in an unprotected yard is the main reason these units fail.
5. Collect the 50 chicks on the date the department notifies, and ask the staff for the vaccination and deworming schedule at the same time.

Because roughly a thousand units are distributed across the whole State each year, apply early in the financial year. Once the Rs 90 lakh budget line is committed, no further units are released until the next year.

How to check your application status

1. Quote the diary number on your receipt at the office of the Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
2. If you applied at a SARAL Kendra, use "Track Application Status" on saralharyana.gov.in with the reference number.
3. Call the SARAL Kendra helpline 1800-2000-023 (7 am to 9 pm, Monday to Saturday) or 0172-3968400.
4. Ask your block veterinary institution directly, allotment lists for a small in-kind scheme are usually held at block level.

Why applications get rejected

• Family ID income above the economically weaker section band, or an unverified Family ID record. This is the commonest reason.
• Annual budget exhausted. With Rs 90 lakh for the State and around 1,000 units, districts run out well before the year ends.
• No safe space for the birds, found at the time of field inspection.
• Previous unit already received by the same family, where the district is prioritising new households.
• Documents not matching — for example an Aadhaar name different from the Family ID entry.

If the reason is a Family ID data problem, get it corrected at a Common Service Centre or SARAL Kendra and apply again in the next financial year.

How to keep a backyard unit alive

The department supplies 10-day-old chicks rather than day-olds precisely because the first ten days are the riskiest. Even so, the practical work is the beneficiary's:

• Keep the chicks in a warm, dry, predator-proof enclosure for the first few weeks before letting them scavenge.
• Provide clean drinking water at all times.
• Get the birds vaccinated. Haryana vaccinates livestock free of cost at the owner's doorstep under its disease control programme to 94.15 lakh livestock were vaccinated in 2024-25 and 74.58 lakh up to 31 December 2025.
• Call 1962, the toll-free number for the department's Mobile Veterinary Units, if birds fall sick. Seventy mobile units operate across the districts, each staffed by a veterinarian, a para-vet and a driver-cum-attendant.

Households that want to move beyond backyard scale can take the department's 11-day short-term training in dairy, sheep, goat, pig and poultry farming for self-employment. Haryana trained 2,624 youth in 2024-25 and 2,226 up to 31 December 2025 under that programme.

Where to complain

• Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry and Dairying of your district: first authority for allotment and distribution complaints.
• Antyodaya SARAL helpline: 1800-2000-023 or 0172-3968400, email saral.haryana@gov.in.
• Toll-free 1962 for bird and animal health emergencies.

The chicks are free. No one may charge you for the birds or for "getting your name on the list", and any such demand should be reported to the district Deputy Director.

Note for readers: the department's website, pashudhanharyana.gov.in, was not responding when this page was last fact-checked on 2 August 2026. The unit size, breed description, beneficiary numbers and budget above come from the Economic Survey of Haryana 2025-26; the scheme name is as listed on the Haryana State DBT portal.