Carcass and meat quality characteristics of South African indigenous chickens

Ramokone Motsepe, Monnye Mabelebele, David Norris, David Brown, Jones Ngambi, Muzi Ginindza

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The present study was performed to determine the carcass and meat quality characteristics of male and female Ovambo and Potchefstroom koekoek (PK) indigenous chickens. A total of 320 male and female day old Ovambo and PK were randomly assigned to a 2 (breed) × 2 (sex) factorial arrangement in a completely randomised design. The chickens were raised from day-old and fed on a commercial grower diet containing 11.5 MJ/ME kg DM and 20 % crude protein until 18 weeks of age. Carcass traits of the Ovambo and PK were similar; however, male chickens had higher carcass traits than their female counterparts. Breed, sex and time interactions influenced colour parameters of thigh and drumstick meat except redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) values of chicken breast meat. The pH varied significantly amongst the breeds, sex and time period. The sensory evaluations of the chicken breeds were observed to be similar. However, tenderness of the breast meat as measured by shear force was higher for PK than Ovambo chickens. Fatty acid profiles of the chickens were not affected by breed or sex. The ratios of n-6 and n-3 fatty acids were significantly lower in both breeds which are desirable in reducing the risk of many diseases. Ovambo and PK chickens showed good meat quality traits. This information can assist in promoting production of indigenous chicken lines in South Africa.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)580-587
Number of pages8
JournalIndian Journal of Animal Research
Volume50
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2016

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Animal Science and Zoology
  • General Veterinary

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Carcass and meat quality characteristics of South African indigenous chickens'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this