Meat quality parameters of broilers from different rearing systems

Bearing in mind certain established European Union regulations on non-industrial poultry meat production, experimental investigations were conducted with the aim to examine the effect of two different rearing systems (free-range rearing and extensive rearing in the chicken pen) on some meat quality characteristics. Investigation results on the shares of muscular tissue, bones and skin in major carcass parts (breasts, thighs and drumsticks) were used as poultry meat quality parameters. Based upon the obtained study results, it could be concluded that a somewhat higher meat share in breasts and drumsticks was recorded with the free-range-reared broilers as compared to the extensively reared ones. A somewhat higher meat share in the drumsticks was registered with the hens whereas other differences from the point of view of the sex effect were small.