Effect of crating density in transit on carcass traits and meat quality of broilers considering animal welfare during cold weather

Transportation and its associated factors such as length of transportation and crating density induce immediate stress in poultry that could trigger both physiological and metabolic responses potentially leading to undesirable changes in meat quality. The current study was conducted to investigate the effect of different crating densities on the meat quality of broilers. A total of 300 35-day-old Ross 308 broilers (average body weight 1.76 kg) were picked at random after applying 4 hours of feed withdrawal before catching. The birds were then transported in the truck (capacity of 30 crates) in crates having dimensions of 1 m × 0.78 m × 0.26 m. The birds were placed in crates under five different crating densities as follow: 8 birds (10.3 bird/m²); 9 birds (11.5 bird/m²); 10 birds (12.8 bird/m²); 11 birds (14.1 bird/m²); 12 birds (15.4 bird/m²). Upon reaching the slaughtering facility, one bird from each replicate was picked to investigate the breast meat quality. Broilers transported at densities of 11 birds/crate recorded the lowest values (p < 0.05) for the water-holding capacity (WHC), pH, and muscle redness compared to those stocked at densities of 9 birds per crate. Lower WHC with more than 11 birds per crate resultantly led to higher cooking loss with birds stocked at 11 and 12 birds per crate. No significant changes in the carcass traits were noticed with the different crating densities. The stocking of fewer than 11 birds per crate is therefore recommended to minimize undesirable changes that could negatively affect muscle quality.

Keywords: broiler, transportation, crating density, animal welfare.

Presented at the 19th AAAP (Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production) Animal Science Congress, Jeju, Korea, 2022.