Effect of caponization on the production performance, slaughter yield and fatty acid profile of muscles of Greenleg Partridge cocks

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess the effects of surgical caponisation on the production performance, share of respective elements of the carcass, basic chemical composition and fatty acid profile of muscles of Greenleg Partridge cocks. Two hundred twenty healthy day chicks were randomly distributed into two experimental groups (caponised and uncaponised). The birds were caponised at the age of 8 weeks old and slaughtered at 23 weeks of age. It was observed that capons tended to consume more feed. The studies found that the caponisation has increased the content of fat and its share in body weight. Further, the caponization has led to an increase in the final body weight and the cold carcass weight in week 23 and an increase in the weight of the stomach. The weight of breast muscles and the content of both depot fat and intramuscular fat was shown to have increased. Caponization caused advantageous changes in the fat profile, in particular of the thigh muscle in which the total content of MUFA and PUFA and PUFAn-6 was increased in capons.

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

“…*The fatty acid composition is shown only in the capons, as there is no abdominal fat in cock carcass (Table 4). Previous studies (Kwiecień et al, 2015) demonstrated significantly higher fat contents in Zk capons than in cocks of this breed. Similarly, Sirri et al (2009) showed lower levels on adiposity of breast muscles in cocks, compared with capons.…”

“…Furthermore, the fatty acid composition is also influenced by the breed and age at caponisation (Miguel et al, 2008;Sirri et al, 2009). The difference in the fatty acid composition between breeds may be related to the different fat content in muscles (Kwiecień et al, 2015). The meat of slow-growing chickens is nutritionally healthier, as it contains lower amounts of fat and has higher n-3 PUFA content (Sirri et al, 2011); therefore, it can be preferred by consumers seeking healthy, organic products.…”

“…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.…”

“…Removal of cocks' tests results in deficient production of androgens, which is reflected in a smaller size of the comb and wattle, a decreased level of aggressiveness (Chen et al, 2007), and reduced sexual drive (Chen et al, 2006). In turn, the energy retained contributes to increased efficiency of feed conversion into growth (Rikimaru et al, 2009;Volk et al, 2011), fat deposition, and improved quality of meat (Volk et al, 2011;Calik et al, 2015;Kwiecień et al, 2015;Zawadzka et al, 2016).…”

“…The use of the native Zk breed for production of capons has been investigated by few researchers (Calik et al 2015;Kwiecień et al, 2015;Adamski et al, 2016;Zawadzka et al, 2016;Gesek et al, 2017). As indicated in a study conducted by , Zk capons exhibited a beneficial weight gain of the breast muscle, increased content of fat (abdominal, intramuscular), and favourable changes in thigh muscles, i.e.…”