Carcass and meat quality of dual-purpose chickens (Lohmann Dual, Belgian Malines, Schweizerhuhn) in comparison to broiler and layer chicken types

Currently, there is an intensive ethical discussion about the practice of culling day-old layer cockerels. One solution to avoid this practice could be using dual-purpose types, where males are fattened for meat and females used for egg production. The aim of the present study was to compare fattening perfor-mance, carcass conformation, and composition as well as meat quality of Lohmann Dual, a novel dual-purpose type, and 2 traditional dual-purpose types (Belgian Malines and Schweizerhuhn) with 2 broiler types and 1 layer type (Lohmann Brown Plus). Broilers included a conventional line (Ross PM3) and a slower-growing line (Sasso 51) fulfilling requirements of organic farm-ing. Nine birds of each type were fed on a conventional broiler diet. Feed intake and metabolizability of nitro-gen and energy were recorded per pen (n = 3), the latter through excreta sampling. For each bird, carcass con-formation was assessed, and weights of body, carcass, breast meat, legs, wings, and inner organs were determined. Additionally, breast angle, an indicator for carcass appeal, and skin color were recorded. Meat qual-ity assessment included determinations of thaw and cooking loss, shear force, meat color, and proximate composition of the breast meat. None of the dual-purpose types (20 to 30 g ADG) performed as well in growth as the intensively growing broiler line (68 g ADG). However, Lohmann Dual could compete with the slower-growing broiler line (slower growth but bet-ter feed efficiency, similar in carcass weight and breast proportion). Also breast angle was quite similar be-tween Lohmann Dual (100 degrees) and the extensive broiler type (115 degrees C) compared to the intensive broiler line (180 degrees). Meat quality was most favorable in the inten-sive broilers with the smallest shear force and thawing loss, whereas meat quality was not different between the other types. The Schweizerhuhn performed only at the level of the layer hybrid, and the Belgian Malines was ranked only slightly better.