The poultry farm, which is under the Animal Resource Development (ARD) Department, is the largest and the oldest in the state. It is also one of the few farms whose products have been allowed entry into the state markets.

Started in 1959, the farm is also poised to play a vital role in the rejuvenation of West Bengal’s poultry industry after the flu is brought under control. It is scheduled to provide fresh, day-old chicks to backyard poultry farms all across the state after culling operations finish.

“Four days after the government officially declares the state flu-free, we will supply 60,000 to 70,000 chicks to various districts at the rate of Rs 9 each,” said the Deputy Director (Poultry Marketing) of the ARD department, Amal Kanti Majumdar, who is at the helm of affairs at the farm.

Various stringent measures have been put in place to ensure the health of the birds at the farm. Strict restrictions have been imposed on the entry of outsiders inside the farm. The entrance leads to a pool of liquid that is a mixture of soda ash, potassium permanganate and formaldehyde solution. This is meant to disinfect the feet of the people walking in and out of the farm as well as the tyres and underbody of vehicles. The pool further leads to a stretch of road laced with bleaching powder.

The birdcages — called deep litters — are sprayed with chalk and bleaching powder four times a day, which is followed by a formaldehyde solution spray. The egg-coolers (where eggs are stored) are vacated every alternate day and fumigated with formaldehyde and potassium permanganate. The raw chicken is stored in a deep freezer, at a temperature of minus 23 degrees centigrade, to keep it free from germs and bacteria.

The sprawling 17-acre farm, housing around 20,000 birds and a daily production of 2,500 to 3,000 eggs per day, has 70 personnel manning the area round-the-clock. Five persons have been assigned the task of warding off any hovering birds to keep potential virus carriers at bay.

“There is round-the-clock veterinary supervision. If there is any bird death, we will immediately send the carcass for a post-mortem,” said Majumdar.

But in spite of the farm’s best efforts, profit margins have taken a drastic hit. “On an average, we used to make a profit of Rs 1.5 lakh per month. But this month we estimate a loss of Rs 5.4 lakh. There has been a 70 per cent drop in over the counter sales,” he said.

“To compensate for the loss, we are rearing 25,000 extra chicks at present. We plan to sell them and recover at least Rs 2 lakh,” Majumdar added.

The farm sells raw chicken as well as whole birds to retailers and individual buyers. But due to the drop in sales, it has been forced to sell eggs over the counter as well. “The eggs are usually incubated to produce chicks. But now we have been forced to sell them for consumption. However, once the bird flu threat is over, the sale of eggs will be stopped,” said Majumdar.