Free-Choice Feeding of Whole Grains Improves Meat Quality and Intestinal Development of Pigeon Squabs Compared with Complete Pelleted Feed

Abstract

Effects of different feeding strategies on meat quality and intestinal development in pigeon squabs were investigated. 120 pairs of pigeons with two squabs each were assigned to five groups (four free-choice feeding systems and one complete feeding system): T1 (corn, pea, wheat, and pelleted feed), T2 (corn, wheat, and pelleted feed), T3 (corn, pea, and pelleted feed), T4 (corn and pelleted feed), and T5 (complete pelleted feed). Compared with T5, the diet in T4 made the breast meat redder and more yellow (p p p p < 0.05). In conclusion, free-choice feeding system can improve the meat quality and intestinal development of pigeon squabs, but which combination method of whole grains to use in the production depends on the feeding purpose.

Keywords

• pigeon
• whole grain
• free-choice feeding
• meat quality
• intestinal development