# Male Layer-Type Birds (Lohmann Brown Classic Hybrid) as a Meat Source for Chicken Pates
## 1 Introduction  
The world poultry industry is primarily divided into two sectors: broilers raised for meat production and laying hens for egg production [1]. Broiler meat is characterized by high nutritional value, relatively tender texture, and pleasant taste, making it highly preferred by consumers [2]. The growing global demand for chicken meat has intensified large-scale broiler production [3]. This growth is primarily due to the broilers' rapid growth cycle, allowing them to reach market weight within 5 to 6 weeks, thereby optimizing production efficiency and reducing costs [4].  
Globally, egg-laying hens are culled and processed for meat once they surpass their peak productive period at the end of their laying cycle [5]. The meat from spent hens exhibits high nutritional value, comparable to broiler chickens, representing a rich sourceof complete proteins [3]. In commercial poultry production, male chicks from egg-laying breeds are not utilized for meat production due to their slow growth rates and lack of desirable carcass traits [6,7]. As a result, these chicks are typically culled immediately after sex determination. This long-standing practice has faced ethical scrutiny, particularly within the European Union, prompting regulatory interventions, including a ban on the culling of male chicks [8,9].  
In response to legislative changes within the European Union prohibiting the culling of male chicks, various alternative strategies have been investigated [9, 10, 11, 12]. One promising approach is rearing the male chickens from egg-laying breeds for meat production [12, 13, 14, 15], offering a sustainable utilization of these birds in the poultry industry. Previous investigations suggested a superior quality of meat from male chicks from egg-laying breeds compared to male broilers [16,17]. Comparative analyses have reported a positive consumer perception regarding the meat quality from male laying hens [12,18], as well as the concern about the management of newly hatched male chicks. To prevent the hatching of male chicks, consumers often favour pre-sexing techniques, followed by the adoption of dual-purpose breeds suitable for both egg and meat production [12, 13, 14, 19]. However, the production costs of raising male laying hens, compared to broiler breeds, is yet a challenge to the market success [20].  
Poultry pates are a popular food product consumed worldwide, appreciated for their taste, nutritional value, and convenience [21,22]. The origins of pate date back to the Middle Ages, when it was traditionally made from minced meat and fat, suitable for spreading on bread and for direct consumption. Nowadays, despite the variety of recipes, the pates are divided into two categories depending on the primary raw material--meat or liver pates [21,23,24]. Both types have specific characteristics, such as price, proximate composition, technological, and sensory properties [25]. From a health perspective, poultry products are lower in saturated fat content and rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), which provide several health benefits [23,26]. However, the high content of unsaturated fatty acids increases the product's susceptibility to oxidation [27], as well as changing its quality parameters [28].  
From this perspective, the main hypothesis of this study will try to answer the question: are the male layer-type birds (Lohmann Brown Classic Hybrid) a sustainable meat source for the production of chicken pates? Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the proximate composition and technological properties of pates produced using meat from male laying hens compared to those produced from broiler chickens, contributing to the development of sustainable and high-quality poultry-based products.