IMPACT OF FEED WITHDRAWAL IN DIFFERENT PERIODS ON CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS OF FEMALE BROILER CHIKS

Abstract

The study was designed at the Bakrajo Poultry Farm, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Sulaimami, Iraq. The research aimed to evaluate the impact of feed withdrawal on carcass cutting and the chemical composition of the female meat of broiler chickens. Three hundred female broiler (Ross 308) randomly distributed into 4 treatment groups with 5 replicates of 15 chicks each. The treatment groups included control T1 with no removal of feed and T2, T3, and T4 with, 6hr, 9hr. and 12 hrs. per 24hr. removal of feed respectively. Two females were randomly selected from each replication based on body weight, weighed alive and sacrificed to estimate the percentage of weight for carcass cuts. The results showed that the percentage of dressings increased in the amount of feed withdrawal in T2, also the abdominal fat was an improvement in T2, with substantial improvement (p>0.05) for breast percentage in T2 as well. However, no major differences were found in the thigh and drumstick percentage of female broiler chicken. The effect of treatments was not significant differences on viscera oranges. Overall, withdrawal of feed for 6hr lead to increase dressing and breast percentage also by these methods can decrease abdominal fat pad and declining feed costs of female’s broilers.

Keywords

• female broiler
• feed removal
• meat quality
• carcass composition