Comparison of the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of Rhode Island Red (R-11) capons and cockerels

Abstract

the aim of the study was the comparison of the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of capons and cockerels. the experiment involved 80 rhode island red (r-11) cockerels, which were randomly assigned to two groups with 40 birds per group. Group i (control) consisted of uncastrated cockerels, and group ii was comprised of birds subjected to castration at 9 weeks of age. the castration was performed under local anaesthesia by a veterinary surgeon. the birds received the same diets ad libitum and were kept on litter under optimal environmental conditions, at a stocking density of 7 birds/m 2 . at the end of fattening, 8 birds whose body weights were similar to the group average were selected for slaughter from each group. after slaughter, the birds were checked for castration success (removal of the testes), analysed for dressing percentage and technological parameters of the meat and subjected to chemical and sensory evaluation of the breast and leg muscles. in summary, the castration of rhode island red cockerels (r-11) had a favourable effect on body weight, feed conversion ratio, dressing percentage and carcass muscling. the breast and leg muscles of the capons were characterised by better water holding capacity, tenderness and sensory score compared to the uncastrated cockerels. in addition, the castration had a positive effect on the content of crude protein in both the breast and leg muscles which, with a higher crude fat content, were characterised by a more favourable profile of fatty acids, i.e. lower sfa and higher n-6 and n-3 pUfa content.Key words: capon, meat quality, fatty acid, sensorial evaluation, spme-GC-ms, chemometricsAccording to the Codex Alimentarius FAO/WHO, meat quality is defined as a combination of attributes that meet specific demands and make meat desirable for food. Over the last several years there has been an increasing number of consum-*This study was financed from statutory activity, project no. 03-010.01.

Effects of Caponization on Growth Performance and Meat Physicochemical Properties of Crossbred Chickens

“…The capons gained weight over 4 kg, with an average feed consumption of 4.66 kg/kg of growth. Lower feed consumption in sterilized birds was also shown by Shao et al (2009) and Rikimaru et al (2009), Calik et al (2017). At the same time, the authors emphasize that both the origin and timing of the treatment has a fundamental impact on the efficiency of use expressed in terms of feed intake and its use for 1 kg growth.…”

“…The obtained hybrids -the capons were distinguished by a significantly higher body weight compared to pure-bred hens, i.e. Rhode Island Red, more than 35% (Calik et al, 2017), and from hens of the Yellow Leg Partridge breed (Ż-33), more than 45% (Calik, 2015). At the same time, a good rate of weight gain produced for the experiment with hybrids allowed to reduce the fattening period by 4 weeks compared to the fattening of capons obtained from pure families.…”

“…Comparison of slaughter performance and meat quality of cockerels and capons by origin, age, breeding system and nutrition has been the subject of many studies (Tor et al, 2002, Rachman et al, 2004Tor et al, 2005;Sirri et al, 2009.;Symeon et al, 2010;Rikimaru et al, 2011;Sinanoglou et al, 2011;Volk et al, 2011;Symeon et al, 2012;Mahmud et al, 2013;Calik et al 2015;Kwiecień et al, 2015;Adamski et al, 2016 a, b;Amorim et al, 2016;Calik et al, 2017, Zawacka et al, 2017Kwiecień et al, 2018;Murawska et al 2019;Wojtysiak et al, 2019). The results of these studies unequivocally prove that as a result of the capon's surgery, the accumulation of fat tissue in the abdominal cavity, subcutaneous fat, and especially intramuscular fat increases, which makes the capon meat characterized by greater fineness, juiciness and tenderness.…”

“…This is important for consumers, who are increasingly looking for products with better palatability. Our own research shows that the results of capon rearing and fattening obtained from pure hen families required a longer rearing period due to slow weight gain (Calik, 2015;Calik et al, 2015Calik et al, , 2017. Thus, an attempt was made to have capon production using hybrids obtained from the crossing of meat roosters with hens of the Yellow Leg Partridge (Ż-33) breed, which is distinguished from other native breeds by its good quality and favorable sensory qualities of meat (Puchała et al, 2014;Obrzut et al, 2018).…”

Effect of Breed and Caponisation on the Growth Performance, Carcass Composition, and Fatty Acid Profile in the Muscles of Greenleg Partridge and Polbar Breeds

“…Besides their unique genetic profile, native breeds are a source of unique quantitative and qualitative traits, which cannot be found in high-performance breeds (Krawczyk et al, 2011). Given the consumers' preferences for meat with low fat content and an agreeable flavour and odour (Van Loo et al, 2010;Walley et al, 2015;Sokołowicz et al, 2016), an interesting alternative in poultry production based on native breed flocks is the tradition of caponisation (Calik, 2014;Kwiecień et al, 2015;Franco et al, 2016;Calik et al, 2017). An additional advantage of this procedure is the use of superfluous numbers of cocks among birds that are intended for rearing.…”