Effect of breed and finishing diet on growth performance, carcass and meat quality characteristics of Mos young hens

Mos breed is a Spanish authoctonus breed linked to raising and natural food, with a growing market niche in the restoration due to their meat is associated with high quality products. The effect of breed (Mos and Sasso X44) on growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality of breast and drumsticks was examined in young hens reared 20 weeks in free-range system. The effect of finishing feeding (fodder, corn and linseed) was also evaluated on the aforementioned parameters. The Sasso group grew faster and the maximum weights were higher (p<0.001), but there was no effect of genotype or feed on final weight or growth efficiency. With the exception of breast piece, the highest percentages of commercial cuts were achieved in Mos birds, when breed was the studied effect. On the other hand, color parameters were not affected by breed. However, significant differences were found among feeding, since animals fed with corn achieved the highest redness values in drumstick (11.94 vs. 10.09 for corn and fodder, respectively; p<0.05). Regarding chemical composition, intramuscular fat (IMF) displayed significant differences between breeds (p<0.05), showing higher values in Sasso X-44. On the contrary, with the exception of IMF, significant differences (p<0.05) on chemical composition were observed among feeding groups. Finally, fatty acid profile was significantly affected by breed and feeding since animals fed with linseed presented better nutritional indices (lower SFA, n-6/n-3 ratio and higher PUFA and P/S ratio). The results show the suitability of Mos breed to produce high quality poultry products.