National Poultry Research Program Parwanipur has not been able to meet the demand of Turkey and Battai chicks. Purnabhadra Chapagai, head of the program, said that there was a high demand from the farmers but it was difficult to meet the demand as chicks could not be produced in that ratio.

At present, 100 turkeys and 300 hens are reared in the office for egg production purposes, he said. He said that so far 1000 turkey chicks have been booked from farmers across the country and the same number of broiler chicks have also been booked. He said that since the demand of the farmers who were on the waiting list could not be fulfilled last year, they will be given priority this year. 

Since these birds lay eggs in winter, chicks will be produced accordingly, so the farmers who raise these birds commercially, he said, are obliged to keep them on the waiting list. He said that after the production of chicks starts, chicks will be sold with priority given to those who are first on the waiting list. 

'If we have more birds that lay eggs, we can produce more chicks, then it will be easier to meet the demand of farmers,' he said, 'Currently, it is difficult to operate a hatchery for the purpose of producing chicks of other birds due to more power cuts. Dr. Ajit Kumar Jha, Information Officer and Scientist, will start the production of chicks of all the birds after Dasain. He said that even in recent days four to five farmers are booking Turkey and Battai chicks. He said that although the target is to produce 20,000 chicks annually, the policy is to encourage farmers to raise these birds rather than selling and distributing them. Currently, 4 farmers in Bara, Parsa and other districts are operating their own hatcheries and have started producing chicks and selling them.