Abstract

Alternative chicken production systems have become popular in recent years due to animal welfare criteria and consumer’s perceptions. General beliefs express that the meat quality of chicken reared under free-range systems is better than that of chickens under conventional production conditions. The aim of this study was to compare the meat quality and carcass traits of chickens raised in conventional and free-range systems. Either conventional or free-range systems used meat-type Hubbard JA57 birds with a slaughter age of approximately 78 days. For assessing carcass traits and meat quality, six male chickens were selected from each system. The meat quality parameters, pH at 45 minutes, ultimate pH, color coordinates, drip loss, cooking loss, and water-holding capacity were measured. Furthermore, proximate parameters, such as crude protein, total fat, and crude ash were determined. There were no significant differences in main carcass yield and breast muscles between chickens reared in two systems, however, color values dramatically were influenced by rearing systems. Breast muscle samples from birds reared under the conventional system had a smaller hue angle and saturation value than those from the free-range birds. Moreover, the drip loss parameter was significantly higher in free-range chickens. The ash and protein contents of breast muscles were similar although raw breast meat from free-range birds had significantly lower fat content. The results prove that a free-range rearing system can modify the appearance, color values, and fat content of chicken meat and it can be a part of the interests of meat production consumers.