The meat quality of slow-growing chicken hybrids and pasture fattening

ENGLMAIEROVÁ, Michaela. The meat quality of slow-growing chicken hybrids and pasture fattening. Výživa a potraviny, 2019, vol. 74(4), p. 100-104. ISSN 1211-846X.
Year2019
CathegoryPublication in specialized journals
Internal link19207.pdf
Abstract

People are increasingly interested in animal welfare. In the case of chickens for fattening, the possibility to increase the animal welfare is to reduce the concentration of animals per unit area and allow the chicken’s access to the free-range with vegetation. Slow-growing chicken genotypes or cockerels of layer line, which are otherwise euthanized after hatching, are suitable for such a form of fattening. These chickens show a greater willingness to graze and thus enrich their meat with healthy substances such as vitamins, carotenoids, minerals and n-3 fatty acids. On the other hand, this meat is characterized by lower water holding capacity and tenderness compared to the meat of broiler chick­ens. However, in terms of organoleptic properties, the meat of slow-growing genotypes is considered to be tastier