Effect of Farming System Type on Broilers’ Antioxidant Status, Performance, and Carcass Traits: An Industrial-Scale Production Study

Author:

Fotou Evgenia1,Moulasioti Vasiliki1,Papadopoulos Georgios A.2ORCID,Kyriakou Dimitra1,Boti Maria-Eleni1ORCID,Moussis Vassilios1ORCID,Papadami Maria1,Tellis Constantinos1,Patsias Apostolos3,Sarrigeorgiou Ioannis4ORCID,Theodoridis Alexandros5ORCID,Lymberi Peggy4,Tsiouris Vasileios36ORCID,Tsikaris Vassilios1ORCID,Tsoukatos Demokritos1

Affiliation:

1. Department of Chemistry, Section of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Ioannina, University Campus, 45110 Ioannina, Greece

2. Laboratory of Animal Husbandry, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece

3. Microbiology and Chemical Laboratory, Pindos APSI, Rodotopi, 45500 Ioannina, Greece

4. Immunology Laboratory, Immunology Department, Hellenic Pasteur Institute (HPI), 127, Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, 11521 Athens, Greece

5. Laboratory of Livestock Production Economics, School of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece

6. Unit of Avian Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract

The global demand for improvement in the welfare conditions of broilers has generated the necessity to implement alternative rearing systems as well as less intensive growth hybrids. The majority of the data on alternative farming methods, notwithstanding their abundance, are the result of small-scale experiments. The present extended field study examined the effect of two different industrial farming systems on broilers’ antioxidant status, performance, and meat quality, including 13 replicates of each industrial breeding system (intensive conventional; free range) and two different chicken genotypes (fast growth; slow growth). The duration of the study was 51 months, and the total number of broilers was 260.000 for the conventional and 78.000 for the free-range system. The results showed that fast-growth chicks demonstrated a more satisfactory performance (in terms of body weight gain (BWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) with p ≤ 0.001), reduced serum lipid oxidation (p ≤ 0.05), and more tender meat. Contrarily, slow-growth chickens presented significantly higher total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in serum and thigh muscle (p ≤ 0.001), significantly lower (p ≤ 0.05) thigh muscle oxidation (in terms of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS), increased protein and decreased fat content (p ≤ 0.05), and better smell, taste, color, and texture. In conclusion, the free-range farming system for slow-growth chickens may result in an overall higher nutritional value, sensory score, and serum and thigh muscle antioxidant profile than the conventional farming system for fast-growth broilers. However, fast-growth broilers exhibit better performance and might undergo less stress.

Funder

European Regional Development Fund of the European Union

Publisher

MDPI AG

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3