Abstract
This study was carried out on 150 cockerel chickens each of Harco Black and Novogen strains to determine their performance, carcass yield and meat composition on free range and deep litter production systems. The birds were brooded for 4 weeks and thereafter allotted to the different production systems for a period of 12 weeks. Each production system was allotted 150 chicks (75 chicks per strain) with three replicates of 25 chicks. The birds on deep litter production system were fed ad libitum while each bird on free range was fed 50 % of its daily feed requirement. On the 84th day, a total of 36 birds were randomly selected for analysis of the carcass yield and meat composition. The data generated were subjected to a two-way analysis of variance in a 2 × 2 factorial experimental arrangement. Novogen strain consumed less feed (P < 0.05) on free range and had the best feed/gain (2.72). A higher (P < 0.05) shear force value (3.74 N) was obtained in the thigh muscle for birds on free range. The tibia proximal length and breadth, and tibia distal length and breadth were significantly (P < 0.05) affected by the production systems and strains. On free range, Harco black had more meat (85.69 g) than bone (18.07 g) in the breast while Novogen had the lowest meat/bone (2.38). Conclusively, Novogen strain should be raised on free range for a better performance in terms of feed/gain, but for higher meat composition, Harco black is a better strain.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- SFRB:
-
Scavengeable feed resource base
- g/d:
-
Gramme per day
- g/b/d:
-
Gramme per bird per day
- ME:
-
Metabolizable energy
- %:
-
Percentage
- ‘H’:
-
Families around the experimental site
- ‘c’:
-
Percentage of household that keeps chicken
- ‘p’:
-
Household waste found in the crop of the scanvengeable birds
- g:
-
Gramme
- kJ/kg:
-
Kilojoule per kilogramme
References
Abbas, A. O., Alm El-Dein, A. K., Desoky, A. A. and Galal, M. A. A., 2008. The effects of photoperiod programs on broiler chicken performance and immune response, International Journal of Poultry Science, 7 (7): 665-671.
AOAC., 2005. Official Method of Analysis of Association of Official Analytical Chemists International (18th ed.), Washington DC.
Appleby, M. C., 2004. What causes crowding? Effects of space, facilities and group size on behaviour with particular reference to furnished cages for hens, Animal Welfare, 13, 313–320.
Balbonatetra, 2012. Management guide of Harco black chickens. http://www.babolnatetra.com/termekek_en.html accessed 14/10/2011, 14:20pm
Bouton, P. E. and Harris, P. V., 1979. Factors affecting tensile and Warner–Bratzler shear values of raw and cooked meat, Journal of Texture Studies, 9, 395–413.
Castellini, C., Berri, C., Le Bihan-Duval, E. and Martino, G., 2008. Qualitative attributes and consumer perception of organic and free-range poultry meat, World’s Poultry Science Journal, 64, 500--512.
Fanatico, A. C., Pillai, P. B., Cavitt, L. C., Owens, C. M. and Emmert, J. L., 2005. Evaluation of slower growing broiler genotypes grown with and without outdoor access: growth performance and carcass yield, Poultry Science, 84, 1321–1327.
FAOSTAT, 2000. Statistical database of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.
Forbes, J. M. 2006. Food choice and intake in chicks. In: V. Bels (eds), Feeding in domestic vertebrates: from structure to behaviour, Wallingford: CAB International pp. 108–119.
Goodger, W. J., Bennett, T. B. and Dwinger, R. H., 2002. Comparative analysis of family poultry production in twelve African countries. In: Characteristics and parameters of family poultry production in Africa, IAEA, Vienna, Austria, pp. 33-37.
Gous, R. M., 2007. Predicting nutrient responses in poultry: Future challenges, Animal, 1, 57--65.
Gous, R. M. and Morris, T. R, 2005. Nutritional interventions in alleviating the effects of high temperatures in broiler production, World’s Poultry Science Journal, 61, 463--475.
Guèye, E. F., 2009. Small-scale Poultry Production: The role of networks in information dissemination to family poultry farmers, World’s Poultry Science Journal, 65, 115--124.
Haule, A.P. and Jere, J., 2000. Report on Participatory Situational Analysis of Livestock Production by Smallholder farmers in Lilongwe West and Kasungu Rural Development Programmes. DASPS-II Pilot sites, pp. 1--15.
Ingram, D. R. and Hatten, L. F., 2000. Effects of light restriction on broiler performance and specific body weight structure measurements, The Journal of Applied Poultry Research, 9, 501--504.
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)., 2007. Innovation in Women’s small-scale poultry activities. http://www.ifad.org/gender/learning/sector/agriculture/w-i.htm
Jaturasitha, S., Srikanchai, T., Kreuzer, M. and Wicke, M., 2008. Differences in carcasse and meat characteristics between chicken indigenous to northern Thailand (Black-boned and Thai native) and imported extensive breeds (Breese and Rhode Island Red), Poultry Science, 87, 160--169
Novogen-layers., 2012. Management guide of Novogen chickens. www.novogen-layer.com/managementguides/index.php?id=22 accessed 14/10/2011, 14:02 pm
SAS, 2003. SAS User Guide for Personal Computers, Statistical Programme release 9.01 Windows Version 4.10.22222, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC.
Semakula, J., Lusembo, P., Kugonza, D. R., Mutetikka, D., Ssennyonjo, J. and Mwesigwa, M., 2011. Estimation of live body weight using zoometrical measurements for improved marketing of indigenous chicken in the Lake Victoria basin of Uganda. Livestock Research for Rural Development. 23 article #170. Retrieved February 10, 2012, http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd23/8/sema23170.htm.
Simsek, U. G., Cerci, I. H., Dalkilic, B., Yilmaz, O. and Ciftci, M., 2009. Impact of stocking and feeding regimen on broilers: chicken meat composition, fatty acids and serum cholesterol levels, The Journal of Applied Poultry Research, 18 (3), 514--520
Sonaiya, E. B., Dazogbo, J. S. and Olukosi, O. A., 2002. Further assessment of scavengeable feed resource base, In: Characteristics and parameters of family poultry production in Africa. Results of a FAO/IEA Coordinated Research Program, IAEA, Vienna, Austria, pp. 193--200.
Ugwu, D. S., 2009. Baseline study of small and medium scale poultry production in Enugu and Lagos States of Nigeria, World Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 5 (1), 27-33.
Wang, K. H., Shi, S. R., Don, T. C. and Sun, H. J., 2009. Effect of a free-range raising system on growth performance, carcass yield and meat quality of slow-growing chicken, Poultry Science, 88 (10), 2219--2223.
Yalcin, S., Ozkan, E., Coskuner, E., Bilken, G., Delen, Y. and Kurtulmus, Y., 2001. Effects of strain, maternal age and sex on morphological characteristics and composition of tibia bone in broilers, British Poultry Science, 42, 184--190.
Acknowledgments
The authors grateful acknowledged the Institute of Food Security, Environmental Resources and Research of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria for providing the aids-in-grant for the study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11250-014-0555-z.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sogunle, O.M., Olaniyi, O.A., Egbeyale, L.T. et al. Free range and deep litter poultry production systems: effect on performance, carcass yield and meat composition of cockerel chickens. Trop Anim Health Prod 45, 281–288 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-012-0213-2
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-012-0213-2