Breast Moisture Research Articles

Carcass Yields and Meat Composition of Male and Female Italian Slow-Growing Chicken Breeds: Bianca di Saluzzo and Bionda Piemontese.

Simple SummaryBionda Piemontese and Bianca di Saluzzo are two slow growing breeds from northwest Italy, specifically from the Piedmont region. Their low input requirements make them suitable in organic and free-range rearing contexts for both meat and egg production. This research, part of a conservation program for these two breeds, aims to define the meat properties and qualitative attributes of these two breeds, comparing them at different slaughter ages in order to identify the most profitable slaughter period. The results show significant benefits associated with slaughtering at 7 months of age, which outperformed the shorter rearing periods in terms of both better slaughter performances and meat properties.The slaughter performance and meat quality of two native Italian chicken breeds, Bionda Piemontese (BP, n = 64) and Bianca di Saluzzo (BS, n = 64), were investigated. Two-way ANOVA, considering breed, sex, and their interaction, was used to compare the properties of birds slaughtered at 5, 6, 7, and 8 months of age. Subsequently, data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and the Duncan test to evaluate the differences between slaughter ages. The BP breed produced a better carcass yield than BS at 5, 7, and 8 months of age (p < 0.05). Breast moisture and crude protein contents were influenced by gender, and were higher in males than in females (p < 0.05). By contrast, the crude fat content was higher in females than in males (p < 0.05). The saturated fatty acid content of breast meat increased as the birds aged in both breeds (p < 0.05). The polyunsaturated fatty acid content of both breast and thigh meat was higher in males than in females (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively). In general, slaughtering at 7 months was associated with the best slaughter and meat quality characteristics in both breeds. Moreover, from a nutritional point of view, the characteristics of the meat from male birds were preferable to those of meat from females.

Effects of production systems on the carcass and meat quality characteristics of spent laying hens.

This study evaluated the carcass characteristics and meat quality attributes of spent laying hens raised under conventional battery cage and free-range systems. Thirty free-range and 30 conventional battery-caged Lohmann Brown-Elite spent laying hens of 53 and 40 wk of age, respectively were obtained from a commercial egg producer. Carcass, portion, and organ weights and percentages were determined. Physicochemical analyses were performed on thigh and breast meat samples. Caged hens had heavier (P ≤ 0.05) warm and cold carcasses, thighs, wings, and feet. The percentages of the breast (26.1 ± 0.51vs. 28.3 ± 0.28), drum, breast bones, breast thaw and cooking loss, and thigh cooking loss were higher (P ≤ 0.05) for free-range than for caged hens. Free-range hens had heavy (P ≤ 0.05) gizzards (33.9 ± 1.04vs. 30.5 ± 0.73) and bones and a lower (P ≤ 0.05) breast meat percentage (47.3 ± 0.94vs. 51.7 ± 1.35). Meat redness (a*) (0.54 ± 0.222vs. 1.40 ± 0.135) and hue angle, skin redness (a*), breast (12.37 ± 0.411vs. 17.10 ± 0.751), and thigh (29.68 ± 0.306vs. 39.75 ± 0.826) Warner-Bratzler shear force values (N), breast moisture, and thigh ash content were higher (P ≤ 0.05) for free-range hens. Caged hens had a higher (P ≤ 0.05) thigh thaw loss percentage and breast ash content. Production system significantly influenced the carcass characteristics and meat quality of spent laying hens. The results of this study supply baseline information for the utilization of spent laying hens by the poultry industry and consumers.