Evaluation of carcass, organ and organoleptic properties of spent layers of different poultry types.

Abstract

This study was designed to assess carcass, organ and organoleptic properties of spent layers of different poultry species; comprising of geese, local chicken, commercial chicken and quails. Eight (8) birds of each species were used for data collection. Results indicated that quail birds had the highest (P < 0.05) proportion for bled weight (97.5%), pluck weight (94.6%) and dressing percentage (72.2%) while the least (P < 0.05) was from geese. The primal cut of quail gave the highest (P < 0.05) values for breast, thigh and back. Wing of geese was the heaviest (P<0.05) while the local chicken was observed to have the heaviest (P < 0.05) drumstick. All parameters for both external and internal offal were significantly (P < 0.05) different between the poultry species. Thermal loss ranged from 31.5- 46.3% in breast muscle and 34.5- 47.8% in the thigh muscle while cooking loss ranged from 19.9-39.8% in breast and 21.5 – 42.5% in the thigh of all the poultry types. Quail had the lowest cooking loss and also was the juiciest, the most tender and ranked the highest in terms of flavor. The overall acceptability of the taste panel was however in favour of exotic breed of chicken.