A dose-response experiment with five lysine levels (0.65, 0.80, 0.95, 1.10, and 1.25%) was conducted to evaluate the lysine requirement of male White Pekin ducklings from 7 to 21 days of age. Two hundred and eighty, 7-day-old, male White Pekin ducklings were allocated to 5 experimental treatments, each containing 8 replicate pens with 7 birds per pen. Feed and water were provided ad libitum fro...

The improved genetic potential of contemporary commercial broilers cannot be fully expressed under hot conditions that depress growth rate, decrease breast meat yield, and reduce meat quality. The negative heat effects are attributed to the insulating feather coverage, which, under high ambient temperatures (AT), hinders dissipation of the excessive internally produced heat. Accordingly, feathe...

An experiment was carried out to evaluate and compare the effects of organic and inorganic selenium (Se) sources on broiler male birds (Ross 308). Uniform broiler male chicks divided in to five groups with six replicates were fed with either normal feed (without supplemental Se, negative control), 0.25 ppm of inorganic Se, 0.5 ppm of inorganic Se, 0.25 ppm of inorganic Se + 0.25 ppm of organic ...

UNLABELLED A study was conducted to establish the response of Pekin ducks to dietary Met from 15 to 35 d age. Experimental diets were formulated to contain 0.35, 0.45, 0.55, 0.65, and 0.75% Met (0.30, 0.39, 0.45, 0.56, and 0.68% on an analyzed basis, respectively) and 0.3% cysteine (0.25, 0.27, 0.26, 0.26, and 0.28% on an analyzed basis, respectively). Each diet was fed to 10 pens of 55 ducks/p...

In the U.S., the per capita consumption of poultry has continued to rise since the 1960’s with the largest increase in production of further processed and convenience products (Figure 1). Because of the emphasis on value-added products, the poultry industry has become focused on improving product yield and meat quality. Commonly used methods of adding value to poultry meats include brining and ...

The effects of chicken breast meat lightness value (L*) on microstructure, protein extraction, and marinating and tumbling was investigated. Pale soft, and exudative (PSE) meat (L* = 57.7, pH 5.72) showed significantly lower salt soluble protein extraction with less heavy myosin chains compared with dark, firm, and dry (DFD) meat (L* = 44.8, pH 6.27). The PSE meat showed larger intercellular sp...

An experiment was conducted to estimate optimal dietary arginine requirement in White Pekin ducks from 1 to 21 d of age. Six hundred thirty 1-d-old male White Pekin ducks were randomly allotted to 10 dietary treatments with 7 replicate pens of 9 birds per pen. Birds in each group were fed corn-corn gluten meals diet containing 0.71, 0.84, 0.95, 1.03, 1.17, 1.27, 1.39, 1.47, 1.62, and 1.72% argi...

The histological characteristics, ie, myofibre types and cross-sectional areas (CSA), of pectoralis major and sartorius muscles of 20 male chickens from two lines (ten birds from each line) divergently selected for breast meat yield were compared. Moreover, some quality parameters (ie, drip loss, ultimate pH value and meat colour) of the breast muscle were recorded. The animals from both lines ...

Three independent trials were conducted to determine the effects of high frequency electrical stunning followed by decapitation on broiler breast meat rigor development and meat quality. All birds were stunned and half of the birds were killed using a conventional unilateral neck cut, half were killed by decapitation, and both groups were allowed to bleed for 90 s prior to scalding and picking....

The aims of this study were to investigate the impact of carcase estimated breeding values on carcase size and lean meat yield of lambs and to determine whether nutrition alters these responses. Selection for high estimated breeding values for growth increased carcase size by as much as 4 kg in lambs fed a high plane of nutrition. On a low plane of nutrition, this effect was reduced by 60%, hig...