Review of the black meat chicken breeds: Kadaknath, Silkie, and Ayam Cemani

SUMMARY Demand for poultry meat and egg in the world is growing day by day due to its growing human population. Due to its wholesomeness with respect to nearly all nutrients, it is regarded as a healthy and balanced diet. But nowadays demand for lean meat and low cholesterol egg is increasing among health-conscious groups of people. Black meat breeds of chicken like Kadaknath, Silkie, and Ayam Cemani are the solution to the need of health-conscious consumers. Because of fibro melanosis, many body parts of these breeds have accumulated an extra quantity of melanin, ultimately resulting in high protein and low-fat meat. Their meat is known to have antioxidant and glucose-binding properties. Their respective meats have traditionally been used by tribal healers in treating some chronic illnesses. Because of its multiple health benefits and increasing consumer demand, there is a need to do a holistic study on the meat and egg of this breed of chicken. These black meat chicken breeds have comparatively higher genetic resistance to some commonly occurring poultry diseases. Genetically, these breeds are slow growing and have lower body weight in comparison to commercial chicken breeds. Due to scientific advancement in management, nutrition, and disease control, it is now possible to increase their productivity to some extent. Still, there is a long way to improve their productivity to meet public demand. Keeping these points in view, we have reviewed the different aspects of Kadaknath, Silkie, and Ayam Cemani chickens.