Performance, Carcass Composition, and Meat Quality during Frozen Storage in Male Layer-Type Chickens

An experiment was carried out in the Institute of Animal Science—Kostinbrod, Bulgaria, to investigate the growth performance of male layer-type chickens (Lohmann Brown Classic), raised to 6 and 9 weeks of age, to evaluate the economic aspects of this rearing, as well as to present changes in the quality characteristics of the meat during frozen storage. The chickens were reared in a controlled microclimate with an initial stocking density of 9 birds/m 2 . After 6 weeks of age, fragmentation of the stocking density was applied, and then it diminished to 3 birds/m 2 . The chickens were slaughtered at 6 and 9 weeks of age. Ten 9-week-old chickens were subjected to carcass analysis. Meat quality parameters (pH, color), degree of proteolysis (free amino groups), and lipid oxidation (content of peroxides and TBARS) were assessed in fresh breast and thigh meat (0 d) and in samples stored for 60 and 120 days at −18 °C in chickens slaughtered at 6 and 9 weeks old. The mean live weight of the male layer-type chickens at 6 weeks was 608.81 g, while the 9-week-old chickens reached 1115.93 g. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) for the whole period of rearing was 2.75. There were no considerable deviations in the meat traits, indicating quality deterioration over the course of the frozen storage. There was a significant increase in the pH of the breast and thighs, reaching maximum values for 60 days of storage in the 6-week-old chicks, while in the 9-week-old birds, pH peaked in the samples stored for 120 days. The changes in the dynamics of pH corresponded to those of proteolysis. There was an increase in lightness (L*), allowing for higher values in the samples stored for 60 days to be reached regardless of the type of meat and age of the chickens. The content of the peroxides increased considerably for 60 days of frozen storage and decreased afterwards. During storage, there was a constant increase in the secondary products of lipid oxidation. Our results indicated that the application of practices such as the fragmentation of stocking density and finding the suitable age for slaughter have significant importance for the profitability of producing meat product from male layer-type chickens. We found that rearing this type of bird until 9 weeks of age resulted in lower costs and higher economic efficiency.