Effect of crating density in transit on carcass traits and meat quality of broilers

Transportation is induced immediate stress in poultry and the reaction of poultry to stress depends on transport duration, physiological status and environment. Additionally, transport stress alters both the metabolic responses and physiological conditions of animals resulting in undesirable changes in meat quality. These factors lead to economic losses which are caused by a decrease in meat quality along with animal welfare. Crating density is a critical factor that determines the developing microclimate inside the crate and truck due to inadequate ventilation and heat exchange rate. Lower than normal crating density is profitable from an animal welfare perspective but it augments the number of vehicles required and causes economic losses on account of physical injuries. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of different crating densities on live losses, carcass characteristics and meat quality of broilers.

A total of 300 37-day-old commercial broiler chickens (average body weight 1,805 g) were picked at random after applying 4 hours of feed withdrawal before catching. The birds were transported in the truck (capacity 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 follows: Control, 11 birds (14.1 bird/m²); T1, 10 birds (12.8 bird/m²); T2, 9 birds (11.5 bird/m²); T3, 8 birds (10.3 bird/m²); T4, 12 birds (15.4 bird/m²). The transportation’s distance was 20 km for 40 minutes at an average speed of 30-50 km/h during the early morning. Upon reaching the slaughtering facility, one bird from each replicate was picked to investigate carcass traits and meat quality of breast. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA of GLM procedure in SPSS (version 26) and Tukey multiple range test was performed when significance at P< 0.05.

Broilers transported of T1 had higher (P< 0.05) values for lightness (L*) compared with control treatments. There were no significant changes (P> 0.05) in pH, redness (a*), yellowness (b*), water holding capacity (WHC), cooking loss, shear force among all treatments.

The present study suggested that the broilers with crating density of T1 had a significantly higher lightness. The crating density was not effective on carcass traits and meat quality except for the lightness.

    

Key words: broiler, animal welfare, transportation, crating density, meat quality.