Ladakh, the Trans Himalayan part of the Jammu Kashmir State of India, is located between the Greater Himalaya and the Karakoram Range, known as the ‘cold desert’, and is comprised of two districts, Leh (45110 km2) and Kargil (14,086 km2). This area has several peculiar climatic conditions characterised by prolonged sub-zero temperatures, unfertile sandy soils with very low water holding capacities, dryness (less than 30% humidity), low oxygen content, intense solar radiation, low atmospheric pressure, high wind velocity and rugged terrain. In winter the temperature falls to -35°C and the altitude varies from 10,000 to 12,000 feet from mean sea level (MSL). The atmospheric oxygen pressure is 30% lower than of MSL. This type of cold arid desert isn't akin to the natural environment of poultry, and hatchability is a big problem due to the climatic conditions in this region. For normal hatchability at sea level, the oxygen concentration, barometric pressure, humidity and temperature should be 21%, 740 mm Hg, 65% and 99.8°F, respectively. However in this cold desert area O2 concentration is 30% lower than at sea level, barometric pressure is only 510 mm Hg, humidity is less than 30% and temperature ranges from -30C to +30°C.

In the last two decades, India has reached a level of self-sufficiency in chicken production, and the poultry industry has become more sophisticated, but the situation in the cold arid part of Leh-Ladakh in India remains challenging. The main reasons for this are the non-existence of any commercial hatcheries, problems transporting day old chicks, poor availability of poultry feed ingredients and the fact that the majority of the population are Buddhist, and consequently largely vegetarian and generally avoid killing animals. The following paper reviews some of the issues of raising poultry in such inhospitable conditions, and how these can be resolved.