Meat quality indices of broiler chickens when using low crude protein diets

Abstract

The findings of the production experiment conducted at the OAO Lindovskaya Ptitsefabrika - Plemennoy Zavod (Linda Poultry Farm - Breeding Farm) on comparative evaluation of meat producing ability and meat quality of Ross PM3 broiler chickens when using the standard diet and low crude protein and metabolic energy diets are discussed. The study was conducted in two groups of chickens (the age from one day to 38 days) under three-stage nutrition program (Starter, Grower, and Finisher). It was found that the broilers of the control group who received a standard diet significantly (p < 0.05) outperformed their trial group counterparts in terms of the main productive indices: live weight at 38 days (2375 g versus 2178 g), average daily gain (61.44 g versus 56.26 g) and feed conversion (1.74 kg kg versus 1.79 kg kg). The European Production Efficiency Factor was also higher in the control group (363 units versus 309 units). However, the broiler chickens of the trial group showed improvement of the meat quality indices: the protein content in the edible part of the carcass was higher by 0.75% (18.0% versus 17.25%), and the fat content was lower by 1.0% (11.5% versus 12.5%). The slaughter yield in the trial group was significantly higher by 0.37% (76.79% versus 76.42%). The economic calculation demonstrated higher profitability of production in the trial group (20.52% versus 19.20%) due to reduced feed costs. Thus, despite a slight decrease of the growth intensity, the use of the diet with lower content of crude protein makes it possible to obtain broiler meat with improved dietary properties while increasing the economic efficiency of production.