Influence of grazing pattern on slaughter performance and meat color of Xueshan chicken

[Objective]The present experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of two-stage feeding pattern on slaughtering performance and meat color of Xueshan chicken and to provide an effective method of feeding to produce good quality of chicken meat. [Method]The female and male Xueshan chickens in high-density intensive feeding were chosen and fed with two-stage feeding system. During first stage, the chickens were fed with high-density food for one month. The second stage (80-day cocks and 120-day hens) was comprised of grazing for two months. After 60 days of feeding, the right pectorales, crureus and abdominal muscles were taken to find out the slaughter performance and meat color. [Result]The results showed that the live weight and the rates of pectorales, crureus, abdomen fat in grazing group were higher than those fed with high-density food, however, the differences were not significant (P0.05). Sexuality of chicken had significant effects on slaughtering performance. The abdomen fat of cock was lower than that of hens, while the crureus fat was significant higher than hens (P0.01). The lightness and redness of pectorales and crureus in grazing group showed an increasing tendency with the elongation of grazing period, while yellowness declined. [Conclusion]Grazing pattern could decrease the rate of abdomen fat, enhance slaughtering performance, and lightness and redness of meat, and was in favour of improving meat color and quality.