Evaluation of Carcass Characteristics and Meat Quality of Indigenous Fowl Ecotypes and Exotic Broiler Strains Raised Under Hot Climate

This study was conducted to investigate the influence of genotype on growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat chemical composition traits of chickens under hot climatic conditions. Two exotic meat strains (Hybro and Hubbard) and three Sudanese native chicken ecotypes (Bare- neck, Large Baladi and Betwil) were used for this purpose. Data were analyzed using General linear model (GLM) of SAS (2007). Results revealed that genotype had significant (P<0.01) effect on traits studied, with the exotic strains exhibited higher average values for live body weight, eviscerated carcass, dressing percentage and carcass cuts percentages. On the other hand the native chicken ecotypes showed higher relative values for back, wings, visceral organs and feather. Chemical composition results were variable, with the highest levels of Protein and ether extract recorded for the exotic meat strain, Hybro and the lowest were recorded for the native chicken, Bare-neck. Moreover, significant differences (P< 0.01) among genotypes were observed for shank weight and shank length, with Hubbard being the highest and Large Beladi and Betwil being the lowest for shank weight and shank length respectively. Among the native chicken ecotypes, Bare-neck had the lowest relative feather weight indicating the effect of Na gene in reducing feather coverage around the body.