PRELIMINARY STUDY ON EFFECT OF ACCESS TO PASTURE OF FINISHED BROILERS ON THEIR ABDOMINAL FAT CONTENT AND CARCASS PORTIONS

Abstract

Access to pasture improves poultry welfare and product quality. Increased locomotor activity in the pasture can lower the proportion of body fat and improve leg health. Pasture provides fresh grass, insects and worms which lead to enhanced product quality. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of access to pasture on abdominal fat content and other carcass characteristics. Eighteen (18) mature Hubbard-classic broilers at eight (8) weeks of age were used for the study. The birds were separated into two treatments with nine birds per treatment. Treatment 1 was the birds placed on pasture, while treatment 2 was the birds kept indoors on deep litter. Data from both treatments were analyzed as from a completely randomized design and compared using t-test. The result shows that there was no significant difference (t_0.05) between the two treatments in all the parameters considered. Hence, it was concluded that pasture access for finished broilers has no effect on abdominal fat content and carcass traits compared with finished broilers on deep litter. Key Words: Finished broilers, pasture access, abdominal fat, carcass characteristics.