Meat Quality of Male Layer-Type Chickens Slaughtered at Different Ages

Abstract

An experiment with male layer-type chickens of the Lohmann Brown Classic breed was carried out at the Institute of Animal Science-Kostinbrod, Bulgaria, aiming to investigate the effect of age at slaughter on the meat quality. The birds were reared in a controlled microclimate, with an initial stocking density of 22 birds/m2. At five weeks of age, fragmentation of the stocking density was applied, decreasing the number to seven birds/m2. Chickens were slaughtered at five and nine weeks of age at an average live weight of 329 g and 1096 g, respectively. After slaughter, 10 chickens from each age group were subjected to analysis to determine the quality of breast and thigh meat. The results of the study showed that the age affected the meat quality parameters of the male layer-type chickens and its effect differed between the breast and thigh. The chickens slaughtered at nine weeks of age displayed a lower pH but darker meat color (p < 0.001) than those slaughtered at five weeks. Furthermore, the older birds showed a significant decrease in the intramuscular fat content in thigh meat (p < 0.01) and a tendency for diminishing in breast meat. This decrease corresponded to the lower percentage of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) in the meat of the nine-week-old chickens (p < 0.01). On the other hand, the meat of the older chickens displayed a higher content (p < 0.01) of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), especially n-6, leading to a considerably higher n-6/n-3 ratio.

A comparative analysis of cooked smoked cockerel products derived from male layer-type chickens (Lohmann Brown Classic hybrid) and dual-purpose cocks (based on Bresse Gauloise)

“…1). The evaluated higher fat content in the tight (TMLC and TDPC) than in the fillets (FMLC and FDPC) confirms previously reported analyses of those muscle groups in the same breeds of cockerels [1,8].…”

“…No matter of the technological processing (injecting and tumbling with brine) moisture content in the final products decreased compared to the raw muscles [1,8]. This is also confirmed by the evaluated yields (Table 1).…”

“…For the purpose of the experiment male layer-type chickens (Lohmann Brown Classic hybrid) -MLC and dual-purpose cockerels (based on Bresse Gauloise) -DPC were used. Both breeds were reared in the experimental poultry farm of the Institute of Animal Science -Kostinbrod, Bulgaria until the age of 9 weeks, described in details by Petkov et al [3] and Popova et al [1,[7][8]. Cockerels were slaughtered in a certified poultry abattoir and stored frozen at -18℃ for 1 month in polyamide bags.…”

“…On the other hand, a few studies indicate that male layer-type chickens exhibit superior quality characteristics compared to male broilers, although this claim relies on slaughter age and rearing conditions [7][8]. Additionally, Soisontes [9] reveals that male laying chickens are widely utilized in Thailand for meat production, with only a small proportion being processed into animal feed.…”

“…Finally, it is important to note that all the aforementioned statements have a strong correlation with the breed, age, and diet of the cockerels [1,[4][5][6][7][8]16].…”