Effect of Slaughtering Age in Different Commercial Chicken Genotypes Reared According to the Organic System: 1. Welfare, Carcass and Meat Traits

The carcass and meat quality of three different commercial chicken genotypes reared according to the organic system and slaughtered at two different ages (70 and 81 days) were compared. The used genotypes were Naked Neck (CN1), Kabir (KR4) and Ross 308 (R). All animals were raised in the facilities...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Italian journal of animal science 2014-01, Vol.13 (2), p.3308-ijas.2014.3308
Main Authors: Bosco, Alessandro Dal, Mugnai, Cecilia, Amato, Monica Guarino, Piottoli, Luca, Cartoni, Alice, Castellini, Cesare
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Carcasses
Chickens
Chickens, Genotype, Slaughtering age, Meat quality, Organic system
Conformation
Dermatitis
Feed efficiency
Genotype
Genotype & phenotype
Genotypes
Lipids
Meat
Meat quality
Neck
Organic system
Plumage
Poultry
Slaughter
Slaughtering age
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The carcass and meat quality of three different commercial chicken genotypes reared according to the organic system and slaughtered at two different ages (70 and 81 days) were compared. The used genotypes were Naked Neck (CN1), Kabir (KR4) and Ross 308 (R). All animals were raised in the facilities of a big Italian company, in production units of 3000 birds. Before slaughtering, plumage conditions, foot pad dermatitis as well as qualitative traits of carcasses, such as skin damage and the presence of breast blisters, were registered (n=50). Naked Neck birds showed the best plumage conditions at both ages; the other genotypes had similar body conditions showing a dramatically worsening at the end of rearing cycle (81 days), mainly at breast level. The carcass conformation showed differences mainly for the CN1 genotype, which was more slender with higher proportions of head, neck and legs; thus, ready-to-cook-carcass yield was lower. The meat of CN1 chickens showed lower levels of lipids, pH and brightness values, but higher index of redness. Ross 308 genotype showed a bad welfare status even at 70 days, confirming that the rearing of this strain should not be permitted in organic systems. In conclusion, this study indicates that genotype deeply affects performance, welfare and qualitative characteristics of meat. Regarding the slaughtering age, although the inconsistency of European Commission rules which authorise the reduction of slaughtering age in less mature strains, at 70 days chickens show higher feed efficiency and thinness of carcass and meat.
ISSN:1828-051X
1594-4077
1828-051X
DOI:10.4081/ijas.2014.3308