Effect of environmental temperature, dietary energy, age and sex on broiler carcase portions and palatability

Abstract

1. Two environmentally‐controlled houses, one at a constant 21°C (low temperature), the other diurnally cycling at 21 to 30°C (high temperature) and two diets of 13.0 MJ ME/kg (low energy, LE) and 13.8 MJ ME/kg (high energy, HE) were used to study the effects of age and sex on broiler carcase portions, dissected tissue proportions, and meat quality. 2. Slaughtering at 54 d instead of 34 d produced broilers with breast and leg weights of 277 and 308 instead of 284 and 319 g/kg carcase respectively, and a higher cutting loss (31 versus 6 g/kg carcass). 3. Males had lower proportions of breast, breast meat and fat, but higher proportions of leg, leg bone, and total meat to fat ratio than females. 4. Cycling high temperature resulted in higher breast, and lower leg proportions than constant low temperature. 5. High dietary energy content increased cutting loss, proportion of breast fat and lowered meat to fat ratio when compared to low energy, but did not affect the flavour of the meat, which was improved by age and high environmental temperature.