Research Article

Effect of caponizing Yellowleg partridge (Ż-33) cockerels on body weight and meat quality

Jolanta Calik

National Research Institute of Animal Production, Balice near Kraków, Poland

1. Acta Sci. Pol. Zootechnica, 14(1), 2015, 51‒60

Abstract. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of caponization on the body weight and selected meat quality parameters of Yellowleg Partridge (Ż-33) cockerels. Ż–33 cockerels were randomly assigned to two groups with 40 birds. Group I (control) consisted of uncastrated cockerels and birds from group II were castrated at 9 wk of age. The castration was performed under local anesthesia by a veterinary surgeon. Birds were kept until 24 wk of age and fed the same diet ad libitum. Dressing percentage, proportion of breast and leg muscles, giblets and abdominal fat were determined postmortem. Physical characteristics of meat: pH, CIE L*a*b* colour, drip loss, cooking loss, and shear force were determined and sensory evaluation was performed. It was established from the results obtained that the castration of Ż–33 cockerels had a beneficial effect by increasing their body weight, dressing percentage and carcass muscling, and by improving the technological parameters and sensory appeal of meat, thus making it possible to use surplus cockerels as valuable material for producing poultry meat of special quality.

Keywords: caponization, body weight, meat quality