Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal

Poultry farming in India has metamorphosed through industrial status, with production of 88 billion eggs and 3.46 million tones of poultry meat. The modern poultry husbandry system has continuously been challenged with several bacterial, viral, parasitic and metabolic diseases. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics, chemical drugs and other synthetic medicines in commercial poultry farms become widespread which poses potential hazards to the society, such as antibiotic residue in poultry products viz. egg and meat and microbial resistance to antibiotics. Also, the goal of international agencies and Indian government now-a-days has been changing from food security to food safety. Medicinal herbs provide immense potential as an alternate to antibiotics and synthetic drugs, but unfortunately these are being less utilized by the poultry husbandry.
Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, with the clear prudence has established Ethno Veterinary Herbal Research Centre for Poultry (EVHRCP) in Namakkal on 25.02.2011, the first of its kind for poultry in India. The objectives of the Centre in broad sense are documentation of ethno veterinary practices in poultry, validation of ethno veterinary practices by different invitro and invivo methods, and propagation of viable practices to the poultry husbandry.

Post graduate students (M.V.Sc. & PhD.) of Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal are utilizing the laboratory facilities of EVHRCP for research purpose.

The laboratory of the Centre is well equipped with infrastructures for qualitative phytochemical analysis of herbs, assessment of antibacterial activity of herbs etc.,

TANUVAS Subproject on” Prevention and Control of Newcastle Disease through Ethno Veterinary Practices” was carried out.