Effects of sex on meat quality of Noiler chicken reared under the semi-arid environment

Abstract

This research evaluated the effects of sex on meat quality of Noiler chicken. A total of 100-day-old sexed (50 males and 50 females) Noiler chicks raised under an intensive management system and fed farm formulated feed with 22% and 20% crude protein at starter (1-4 weeks) and finisher (5-10 weeks) phases respectively, were used during the experiment. At four weeks, the chicks were divided into 2 groups by sex consisting of 50 birds each (50 Male and 50 Females) and then each group was divided into 5 replicates of 10 birds each in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 10 birds per each replicate. At the end of the test period (10 weeks) 5 birds per replicate were sacrificed and their carcasses were evaluated for meat quality traits. From the results obtained, the mean values of meat quality traits (cooking loss, drip loss, colour, and pH) varied significantly among all the treatment groups (P<0.05). It was concluded that sex have significant effect on meat quality traits of Noiler chicken.