1 Production of Local Chicken Breeds and Non-Chicken Species Hanan Al-Khalaifa , Afaf Al-Nasser, Gehan Ragheb, Faten Khalil, Mariam Al-Bahouh, Magdy Mashaly Environmental and life Sciences Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research E-mail: hkhalifa@kisr.edu.kw Abstract Development and conservation of native local chickens and non-chicken species, such as quails, ducks, houbara and ostriches, are of great importance to enhance biodiversity and enrich the genetic pool of poultry worldwide. It contributes to food security and income generation in rural areas. Historically, these species also serve some social and religious functions as they are required for special festivals and are essential for many traditional ceremonies. More effort and time should be spent on development of local pure breeds and on conducting research studies on all aspects of scientific fields related to these chickens. What are local chickens? There is no legal or universally accepted definition of local chickens. Local or indigenous chickens represent a group of birds that were originated in an area and were adapted to its local environmental conditions. These birds have survived for long period of time through a process of natural selection, the result of this selection is a heterogeneous population which differs in its morphology and its adaptive traits to the local environment (Katule, 1990).These chickens are known to be highly resistant to local diseases and stressful conditions .The local chickens, sometimes called native, are considered to be dual-purpose birds that can be used for both meat and egg production. They are generally characterized of producing high quality eggs with different milky colors. These birds are known for their low production rate and small egg sizes (Al-Nasser et al., 1998, Alsobayel, 1986, Al-Nasser et al., 2013, Baset et al., 2000, Islam and Nishibori, 2009). Importance of local chickens Poultry meat and eggs, especially those for chickens are considered as most popular food items all over the world. During the past decade, many countries have increased their commercial production of these essential products to meet the increased demand by consumers. According to the World Resources Institute, global per capita food production has been increasing substantially for the past several decade (FAO, 2003, World Resources Institute, 2000). However, there are several factors that could affect the rapid growth of agricultural market production, including poultry production. These factors include: export restrictions, currency depreciation, world oil prices, global population growth, climate change, loss of agricultural lands and wars. Accordingly, the consumer demand will exceed the available resources and production capacity. This will result in a situation that will definitely challenge food security. World Food Summit in 1996 has defined food security as ‘ a situation when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for a healthy and active life’ (FAO, 1996 ). Worldwide, around 925 million people are chronically hungry due to extreme poverty, while up to 2 billion people lack food security intermittently due to varying levels of poverty (Stamoulis and Zezza, 2003, FAO, 2003). In developing countries, often 70% or more of the population lives in rural areas. In that context, agricultural development among smallholder farmers could give them the opportunity to face poverty and achieve food security for their local society. In other words, production of local chickens could be used as a major resource to achieve food security. In addition, local chickens enhance the organic content of the environment by providing manre with high content of nitrogen and organic matter. This contributes to the development of integrated farming systems in developing rural areas. In some societies, they serve some social and religious functions as they are required for special festivals and are essential for many traditional ceremonies.