Kottayam: Ponkunnam native M D Baby and his wife Baby V Nair are happy to take care of the birds and animals on their house compound and that has become a routine for them. M D Baby retired as a deputy tehsildar while his wife Baby retired as assistant secretary from Chirakkadavu Cooperative Bank. The couple used to take care of the birds and animals even when they were working.
21 cows, 15 goats
There are 21 cows in 4 cow sheds in the back of their house. The cows belong to Gyr, Jersey and Holstein Friesian breeds. Milk is sold in the household itself. Buyers come to their house to buy milk. Also they have 15 goats that belong to Jamnapari, Malabari and Sirohi breeds. People come from 20 kilometres away to buy goat milk.
350 egg laying chicken
A poultry farm is maintained at the back of the cow shed. Meat is not sold here. 350 egg laying chicken are grown in the farm. Neighbours are the main customers of eggs. There are also some ducks in the farm.
Geese for beauty
The Baby couple grows geese which has high demand as ornamental birds. The white birds are bought for their beauty and elegance. Goose egg fetches maximum Rs 100 while a goose hatchling gets upto Rs 1000. People buy adult geese for upto 4000 per bird.
Only profit
Most of the farm works are managed by the couple themselves. Two helpers also are appointed. After all expenses, they make a profit of Rs 4.5 lakh annually. M D Baby said that they get more profit from cow dung and ghee than from milk.
As the cow dung is not exposed to sunlight and rain, it has better quality as fertilizer and fetches good price. The cooking gas required for the household also is produced from cow dung.
Rare crops
Apart from the dairy and poultry farms, the couple also grows rare tubers like yam, taro, purple yam and air potato. Rare vegetables like clove bean (Nithya Vazhuthana), winged bean (chathurapayar) also are cultivated on the compound. Only cow dung is used as fertilizer for all the crops, but they get stunning yield.
