Hens play surrogate mother.

Byline: Hina Kausar Alam

HYDERABAD: The ubiquitous country chicken or 'khudak murghi', is proving to be a saviour for the Nehru Zoological Park (NZP) in city when it comes to improving the rate of survival of the rare and endangered pheasant species.

In a bid to ensure that eggs of rare pheasants are hatched properly and in good number, the NZP authorities have been employing the 'khudak murghi' to brood on the eggs laid by the pheasants. The pheasant chicks are allowed to be reared by the country chicken for about four or five weeks after which they are weaned away to lead lives of their own.

The zoo has so far successfully bred chicks of the …