Effect of handling system and seasons of the year on performance, carcass yield and meat quality of broiler chicken - doi: 10.4025/actascianimsci.v32i2.7241

Abstract

This study had as objective to evaluate the effect of the handling system and season of the year on the performance and meat quality of broiler chicken. Five hundred twenty-four thousand commercial Cobb 500 chicks were allocated in three different handling systems, during the four seasons of the year. The experimental design was completely randomized, with a 3 x 4 factorial scheme (three types of storage shed and four seasons). The diet was provided by a co-operative system and consisted of rice straw, and the broilers were slaughtered in a slaughterhouse at 43 days of age. Feed intake, weight, daily weight gain and mortality rate were available with data provided by the co-operative system. Carcass defects were also evaluated, and analyses of pH, tenderness and drip loss of meat were determined. The chickens raised in automatic and semi-automatic systems and during warm seasons showed lower carcass yield and worse meat quality (great values of drip loss and acidity, small values of tenderness), and higher rates of carcass defects. Chickens raised in a non-automatic system and during cold seasons showed the best performance, with low mortality rate and the best meat quality.