Biomolecules, Fatty Acids, Meat Quality, and Growth Performance of Slow-Growing Chickens in an Organic Raising System

Abstract

This study was to determine the effect of the organic raising system (OR) on growth performance, meat quality, and physicochemical properties of slow-growing chickens. Three hundred and sixty (one-day-old) Korat chickens (KRC) were randomly assigned to control (CO) and OR groups. The groups comprised six replicates of thirty chickens each. The chickens were housed in indoor pens (5 birds/m2), wherein those in OR had free access to Ruzi pasture (1 bird/4 m2) from d 21 to d 84 of age. In the CO group, chickens were fed with a mixed feed derived from commercial feedstuffs, while those in the OR group were fed with mixed feed derived from organic feedstuffs. The results revealed a lower feed intake (p < 0.0001) and feed conversion ratio (p = 0.004) in the OR. The OR increased total collagen, protein, shear force, color of skin and meat, and decreased abdominal fat (p < 0.05). The OR improved fatty acid with increased DHA, n-3 PUFA, and decreased the ratio of n-6 to n-3 PUFA in KRC meat (p < 0.05). The synchrotron radiation-based Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and correlation loading analyses confirmed these results. In conclusion, our results proved that OR could improve growth performance and meat quality and suggested the raising system be adopted commercially. In addition, the observed differences in biochemical molecules could also serve as markers for monitoring meat quality.