Influence of Age and Breed on the Muscle Nutrient Content of Slow- and Fast-Growing Birds under Similar Management

Research Article

Ann Agric Crop Sci. 2023; 8(1): 1128.

Influence of Age and Breed on the Muscle Nutrient Content of Slow- and Fast-Growing Birds under Similar Management

Ibitoye EB¹*; Nur Mahiza MI²; Lokman HI³

1Department of Theriogenology and Animal Production, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Nigeria

2Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia

3Department of Pre-Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia

*Corresponding author: Ibitoye EB Department of Theriogenology and Animal Production, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Nigeria. Tel: +234 7038 2282 00 Email: eb.ibitoye@gmail.com

Received: March 08, 2023 Accepted: April 20, 2023 Published: April 27, 2023

Abstract

Traditional free-range, slow-growing bird rearing is critical to household food security and poverty alleviation in developing countries. This study evaluated the proximate and collagen contents of the breast and thigh muscles of Red Jungle fowl (RJ), Village Chicken (VC) (slow-growing birds), and Commercial Broilers (CB) (fast-growing birds). Fifty each of the RJ, VC, and CB day-old chicks were raised under similar management. They were randomized into three groups according to breed (JV, VC, and CB), in five replicates, using cages (1.2m×1.2m×0.6m) from day old till the end of the experiment. They were fed a commercial diet and were allowed to drink water ad libitum for 120 days. Ten chickens per breed or group were serially euthanized, and their pectoralis major (breast muscle) and biceps femoris (thigh muscle) were evaluated for moisture, ash, crude protein, and collagen. The moisture in the RJ breast was lower (p≤0.05) than in the VC and CB, while it decreased (p≤0.05) with age. The crude protein in RJ and VC was higher (p≤0.05) than in CB and at an earlier age (p≤0.05) than at older ages. Collagen increased with age for all breeds evaluated; it was highest (p≤0.05) in RJ, least in CB, and higher in the thigh than in the breast. The nutrient composition differs between these birds, although they were raised under similar management. It was concluded that the age and breed of the bird influence the nutrient content of the RJ, VC, and CB muscles.

Keywords: Breast and thigh muscles; Collagen; Crude protein; Fast-growing Birds; Slow-growing birds

Abbreviations: RJ: Red Jungle Fowl; VC: Village Chicken; CB: Commercial Broilers

Introduction

In general, meat comprises approximately 72-75% water, 19% protein, 3.5% soluble non-protein substances, 2.5-5% fat, 1.5% non-protein nitrogen compounds, 1% non-nitrogenous compounds (vitamins), and carbohydrates, and 1% ash [1]. The variability in chemical composition and quality of muscle is related to several factors, i.e., species, breeds, sex, age, nutrition, and genetics of the animal, as well as the location and physical exercise of the muscle [2]. Breeds exert the most general intrinsic influence on the biochemistry and constitution of muscle [3]. There is also a genotype effect on the protein content of breast meat, as described by [4,5], who reported that slow-growing birds had higher protein content than fast-growing ones. Typically, the compositions of the body and muscle change as the animal ages [6]. In general, most parameters such as the intramuscular fat and protein increase while the moisture content decreases [7] and the number of collagen increases. According to [8], the general effects of nutrition on the growth of meat are reflected in the composition of individual muscles. A high level of nutrition will increase the percentage of intramuscular fat and decrease the percentage of moisture [9], while undernutrition will cause a marked increase in muscle water content associated with an increase in the percentage of intramuscular collagen [10].

The least understood of the intrinsic factors that affect muscle constitution is the variability between individual animals [11]. In poultry, there are different species and breeds of chicken, such as jungle fowl (Gallus gallus), indigenous chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), and broilers (Gallus domesticus). Modern broilers are typically descendants of red jungle fowl [12]. The red jungle fowl are known to be omnivores, having insects, young leaves, seeds, and fruits of many plant species as their diets. As for the village chickens, they are the progeny of a cross between red jungle fowl and a mixed exotic domestic breed that was brought by the Britons. They usually feed once or twice a day with an assortment of remnants such as rice or used coconut pulp and are known to have poor production performance [12]. They are free-ranging and cheap and easy to raise [13]. In Malaysia, most of the studies done on the Red Jungle fowl (RJ) and Village Chicken (VC) have focused on their development, rearing systems, and diseases [14]. Data on their nutrient compositions on a chronological age basis is lacking. Thus, this experiment was to determine and compare the nutrient content of breast and thigh muscles in the slow-growing RJ and VC and the fast-growing CB breed.

Materials and Methods

Animals and Experimental Design

The experimental house was located at N 03.00551° and E 101.70501° at Universiti Putra Malaysia. A total of 150-day-old chicks of both sexes, consisting of 50 each of Red Jungle Fowl (RJ) (Gallus gallus spadiceous), Malaysian Village Chicken (VC) (Gallus gallus domesticus), and Commercial Broiler (CB) (Ross), were used for this study. In a completely randomized design, the chicks were allotted into 3 groups of 50 birds each according to breed (JV, VC, and CB), and replicated five times with 10 birds per replicate. These three breeds of chicken were individually reared in three different cages (1.2m×1.2m×0.6m) in the experimental house from day old until the end of the experiment (day 120). They were fed a commercial diet and allowed to drink water ad libitum, and the concentration of crude nutrients in their diets is shown in Table 1. For both the RJ and VC, their eggs were obtained from Jenderam Hulu, Sepang, Selangor, and were hatched in the laboratory using a hatchery. The CB chickens were obtained from a private hatchery in Taiping, Perak, Malaysia.