Growth Intensity and Carcass Characteristics of Fattened Pheasant Poults Intenzitet Rasta I Zna Ajke Polovica Tovljenih Pili a Fazana

The main aim of the present work was to find out whether intensive fattening of pheasant poults can provide high-quality pheasant meat. The study is a pilot work in this area because until now pheasant rearing has only produced pheasants for the purpose of hunting. In this experiment three feeding mixtures were designed; nutritional and energetic composition of the mixtures complied with the respective feeding requirements. The feeding mixtures did not contain components originating from animals in order to ensure safety of meat. The growth intensity and the state of health of pheasants reflect the quality of feeding mixtures administered. Thus, on the 90 day the female and male pheasants weighed 0.832 kg and 1.061 kg, respectively. This represents approximately 90 % of the weight of an adult pheasant in natural hunting grounds. Pheasants were in a good state of health as concluded on the basis of a very low mortality rate (4.45 %). Results concerning carcass parameters such as carcass yield and the yield of high-quality tissues (breast and thigh muscles) are very promising. Thus, carcass yields ranged from 71 % to 72 %. The yield of breast muscles at the end of the feeding was 20.43 % in females and 19.66 % in males. The yield of thigh muscles was also high, reaching the level of 20.40 % in females and 20.59 % in males. The above values of carcass yield and the yield of the most valuable muscles obtained in this experiment exceed the values observed in most broiler chickens. Importantly, the experiment showed that despite intensive fattening the pheasant poults did not accumulate abdominal fat. Accumulation of abdominal fat was detected only in some 90-day-old pheasants after slaughter.