STUDY OF CERTAIN FACTORS INFLUENCING MEAT PRODUCTION IN ROSS-308 CHICKEN HYBRID

M.G. Usturoi

Abstract
    Chickens gender and slaughtering age were studied as factors that could affect the slaughtering technical parameters (dressed yield and proportion of cut parts from whole carcass). There have been established 3 groups of Ross-308 chicken broilers, consisting each in 100 individuals (50 males and 50 females), slaughtered gradually when groups reached, consecutively the ages of 35, 42 and 49 days. Increase of this moment from 35 to 49 days resulted in better live weight, with 55.09% in males, with 46.90% in females. Dressed yield calculated on fresh carcasses was 0.54-1.17% better in females compared to males. On refrigerated carcasses there were found also 0.50-0.83% higher values in females, which suggest decreased drip loss in males. Calculation of cut parts proportion from whole carcass revealed more back percentage in the chickens slaughtered at 35 days, compared to the other slaughter ages (+ 1.48 … 2.32% in males and + 0.97 … 1.70% in females. Compared to this first slaughter moment, the other chosen ages brought better breast proportion (0.85-1.52% higher in males and 0.82-1.20% higher in females), whole chicken legs proportion (+0.50 … 0.57% in males and + 0.06 … 0.36% in females) even that of the wings (0.13-0.23% improvements in males and 0.09-0.14% in females). The achieved results underline that slaughtering the Ross-308 chickens at ages of 42 and especially of 49 days is related to improved dressed yields and proportion of the high value cut parts. Also, the separate - genders rearing is recommended.

Key words: Ross-308, age, gender, slaughtering, poultry