Evaluation of Carcass Characteristics and Egg Quality Traits of Kuroiler and Sasso Chickens Reared Under On-Station and On-Farm Management Conditions in Tanzania
Abstract Two studies were conducted to evaluate the carcass characteristics and egg quality traits of Sasso and Kuroiler chickens under on-farm and on-station management conditions. Carcass characteristics were evaluated under on-station only while egg quality was evaluated under both management conditions. A total of 240 hens and 240 cocks were raised under on-station condition and evaluated for egg and carcass quality respectively. Meanwhile, 320 hens were raised under on-farm condition and evaluated for egg quality only. At the end of each of the 16th and 20th weeks of age, a sample of 10 cocks per breed was randomly selected and sacrificed for carcass traits evaluation. To study egg quality, a total of 666 fresh eggs (246 eggs from on-farm and 420 eggs from on-station) were used to evaluate the external and internal egg quality traits. The recorded data were analyzed using the General Linear Models (GLM) procedure of SAS software ( SAS 2009). The results show that except for shell, yolk and albumen ratios, the mean values of other egg quality traits studied were higher for on-station than on-farm. Kuroiler chickens had higher values for egg weight, egg length, yolk weight, albumen height and Haugh unit than Sasso chickens. Live weight, carcass weight and carcass parts weight were found to be higher for Sasso than for Kuroiler at both ages of slaughter. It is concluded that there are variations between managements and breeds on egg quality traits. Carcass characteristics are affected by both breed and slaughter age.