Objective: Indigenous poultry farming in rural areas can create entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for rural women, contribute to household protein supply, improve income, and support sustainable rural development. Despite these recognized benefits, participation in this rural activity remains relatively limited. Accordingly, identifying the factors influencing indigenous poultry farming among rural residents in Mazandaran Province may help strengthen their willingness to engage in this locally adapted activity.
Methods: This study adopted a quantitative, applied, descriptive-survey research design. The statistical population comprised all indigenous poultry producers in Mazandaran Province, numbering 64,725 individuals. The researchers used a multistage sampling technique to select respondents and randomly selected 382 indigenous poultry producers as the study sample. Data were collected through a researcher-developed questionnaire. Content validity was assessed through consultation with experts, and the instrument’s reliability was confirmed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient.
Results: Individual–professional and social–environmental factors explained 73% and 36% of the variance in perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, respectively. Perceived usefulness, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control jointly explained 74% of the variance in behavioral intention. In addition, behavioral intention and perceived behavioral control together explained approximately 64% of the variance in indigenous poultry-farming behavior.
Conclusions: The core explanatory mechanism of the proposed model lies in the effect of behavioral intention on the actual performance of indigenous poultry-farming behavior. Nevertheless, perceived behavioral control also represents a critical determinant and, in combination with behavioral intention, exerts an even stronger influence on the adoption of indigenous poultry farming. Key strategies recommended for developing indigenous poultry farming in Mazandaran Province include enhancing producers’ risk-taking capacity, improving technical knowledge and production skills, raising public awareness of indigenous poultry products, expanding producer cooperatives, and providing targeted low-interest bank loans.