Performance and Meat Quality of Dual-Purpose Cockerels of Dominant Genotype Reared on Pasture

Simple Summary One-day-old laying cockerels are killed after hatching because they do not reach the growth rate of broiler chickens, and their fattening would be economically disadvantageous. A possible variant of the use of these cockerels could be organic or free-range farming, where it is desirable that the animals are fattened for a longer period of time, are more physically active, and graze pasture vegetation. Another possibility is dual-purpose genotype breeding, where hens are used for egg production and cockerels are fattened for meat. In the present study, three genotypes of dual-purpose cockerels Dominant were compared. All three genotypes showed the ability to graze with resulting improvements in meat quality. The Dominant 102 cockerels have the greatest prerequisites for use in extensive fattening, mainly due to higher performance, willingness to graze and vitamin E content, which protects the fat from becoming rancid. Abstract The culling of layer cockerels due to economic inefficiency is an ethical problem. Organic or free-range fattening of these cockerels or dual-purpose genotypes breeding is a possible solution to this problem. The aim of the study was to assess the differences in performance and meat quality characteristics in dual-purpose cockerels Dominant of three genotypes (Dominant Sussex D 104, Dominant Brown D 102 and Dominant Tinted D 723, 100 cockerels per genotype) with access to pasture. The cockerels were housed in mobile boxes on the pasture herbage from the 50th to 77th day of age (stocking density: 0.108 m2/bird). The highest body weight on the 77th day of age (p < 0.001) and the nonsignificantly lowest feed conversion was achieved by Dominant Brown D 102 cockerels (1842 g and 2.79, respectively). Non-significantly higher pasture herbage intake on the 70th day of age was recorded in genotype Dominant Brown D 102 (7.41 g dry matter (DM)/bird/day) and Dominant Tinted D 723 (7.52 g DM/bird/day). The pasture herbage contained 56.9 mg/kg DM α-tocopherol, 170.3 mg/kg DM zeaxanthin and 175.0 mg/kg DM lutein and had a favourable n6/n3 ratio (0.26). The boiled meat of cockerels Dominant Tinted D723 showed the highest tenderness based on both the sensory evaluation (p = 0.022) and the value of shear force (p = 0.049). This corresponds with a higher (p < 0.001) cross-sectional area and muscle fibre diameter in these chickens. The highest content of n3 fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic, clupanodonic and docosahexaenoic acids) in breast meat were found in Dominant Sussex D104 chickens (p < 0.001). In contrast, a significantly higher α-tocopherol content (p < 0.001) and higher oxidative stability (p = 0.012) were found in Dominant Brown D102 (4.52 mg/kg and 0.282 mg/kg) and Dominant Tinted D 723 chickens (4.64 mg/kg and 0.273 mg/kg) in comparison with the Dominant Sussex D104 genotype (3.44 mg/kg and 0.313 mg/kg). The values of the atherogenic and thrombogenic indexes were the lowest (p < 0.001) in meat from Dominant Brown D102 chickens. Moreover, a lower cholesterol content (p < 0.001) was recorded from the genotypes Dominant Brown D102 (396 mg/kg) and Dominant Tinted D723 (306 mg/kg) chickens, contrary to the Dominant Sussex D104 cockerels (441 mg/kg). It can be concluded that cockerels Dominant Brown D102 are a suitable genotype for free-range rearing due to higher performance and higher pasture herbage intake, which positively influences meat quality, whereas the meat of Dominant Sussex D104 cockerels shows higher amounts of n3 fatty acids and lower n6/n3 ratios.