Effect of Different Feeding Regimes on the Production Performance and Meat Quality of BLRI Improved Hilly Chicken

Abstract

The experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different feeding regimes on the production performance and meat quality of BLRI Improved Hilly Chicken. A total of 30 farmers were selected from different locations of Dumuria Upazila under Khulna District, Bangladesh. The study was conducted using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three treatments: T₁ = Scavenging, T₂ = Semi-scavenging, and T₃ = Intensive rearing system, with replications. Growth parameters were recorded to compare the performance of the three feeding systems. All rearing systems showed significant differences (p < 0.01) in body weight. At 12 weeks of age, the highest body weight of cocks was recorded in the intensive group (1323.4 g), followed by the semi-scavenging group (1139.0 g) and the scavenging group (762.2 g). Similarly, the highest body weight of hens (1167.2 g) was found in the intensive group, followed by the semi-scavenging group (1060.6 g), while the lowest body weight (792.8 g) was recorded in the scavenging group. The weekly feed conversion ratio (FCR) differed significantly (p < 0.01) among the treatment groups. Carcass characteristics such as dressing percentage, thigh percentage, breast percentage, and drumstick percentage did not vary significantly (p > 0.05) among the feeding systems. However, the highest percentages of drumstick, breast, and thigh meat were observed in the semi-scavenging group. Non-carcass parameters, including head weight, shank weight, gizzard weight, and liver weight, also showed no significant differences (p > 0.05) among the treatments. Immediately after slaughter, most color attributes of breast and drumstick meat did not differ significantly among treatments, except for the hue angle (h*) of breast meat. After two weeks of storage, only the lightness value (L*) and hue angle (h*) of breast meat showed significant variation (p < 0.01). Meat texture characteristics, particularly hardness (H) of breast meat, and pH values of different carcass parts were highly significant (p < 0.01) among the feeding systems. Similar significant differences were observed after two weeks of storage. Nutritional parameters such as moisture, crude fiber (CF), ether extract (EE), ash, and crude protein (CP) did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) among the treatments. The highest crude protein content was observed in the semi-scavenging group, whereas the lowest was found in the intensive group. Ether extract content was highest in the semi-scavenging system and lowest in the scavenging system. Ash content remained almost identical across all treatments. The study concluded that among the three rearing systems, the semi-scavenging system was the most effective in terms of growth performance, carcass and meat quality characteristics, and protein content.