Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Milan, via Trentacoste 2, 20134 Milan, Italy.
Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, University of Milan, via Celoria 10, 20134 Milan, Italy.
Poult Sci. 2018 Apr 1;97(4):1148-1154. doi: 10.3382/ps/pex439.
The study aimed to characterize meat quality traits of Milanino chickens reared according to a specific free-range farming program. A total of 120 birds was reared straight-run in outdoor pens (8 m2/bird) from 35 d of life and fed ad libitum a low (16%) protein diet. At 180 d of age, 20 birds (10 birds/sex) were slaughtered, and carcass weight data were recorded. After processing, carcasses were refrigerated at 4°C for 24 hours. Then, the right breast and thigh with skin were collected and color parameters, pH, water-holding capacity (WHC), and chemical composition were determined. The left breast and thigh were stored at -20°C until cooking loss and tenderness evaluation. Milanino was confirmed to be a heavy breed with a sexual dimorphism in relation to adult body weight. A high general carcass yield was recorded. Milanino meat was characterized by high protein and low fat contents compared with the standard broiler meat. Differences in meat composition were recorded according to the sex: females presented higher values of dry matter (breast and thigh), protein (breast), and fat (breast and thigh) contents. The meat with skin presented an intense luminosity, and this trait was higher in the females. The muscle color was characterized by high redness and yellowness indices with differences according to the sex: Higher yellowness index was observed in female carcasses, while higher redness index was detected in male breast samples. The pH muscle values were similar to those reported in other autochthonous breeds. WHC values did not show variation between sexes. In contrast, cooking loss values recorded in thigh samples were lower in males compared to females. The degree of tenderness of Milanino meat was not affected by the sex. However, the potential loss of water and the toughness in Milanino meat were low compared to other local chicken breed meat. The present results support the breeding of Milanino chickens for meat production according to its specific straight-run free-range system.
本研究旨在描述根据特定的自由放养养殖计划饲养的 Milanino 鸡的肉质特性。从 35 日龄起，总共 120 只鸡采用直线育雏方式饲养在户外围栏（每只鸡 8 m2）中，并自由采食低蛋白（16%）日粮。在 180 日龄时，宰杀 20 只鸡（每性别 10 只），记录胴体重数据。屠宰后，胴体在 4°C 下冷藏 24 小时。然后，采集右侧胸肌和带皮大腿肌肉，测定颜色参数、pH 值、水分保持能力（WHC）和化学成分。左侧胸肌和大腿肌肉在-20°C 下储存，直到进行烹饪损失和嫩度评价。Milanino 鸡被证实为一个重型品种，具有与成年体重相关的性别二态性。记录到高的一般胴体产率。与标准肉鸡相比，Milanino 鸡肉具有高蛋白和低脂肪含量的特点。根据性别记录了肉组成的差异：雌性胸肌和大腿肌肉的干物质、蛋白质和脂肪含量较高。带皮的肉呈现出强烈的光泽，并且在雌性中这种特征更为明显。肌肉颜色的特点是红度和黄度指数较高，并且根据性别存在差异：雌性胴体的黄度指数较高，而雄性胸肌样本的红度指数较高。肌肉 pH 值与其他本土品种报道的值相似。WHC 值在性别之间没有差异。相比之下，雄性大腿肌肉样本的烹饪损失值低于雌性。Milanino 鸡肉的嫩度不受性别的影响。然而，与其他本地鸡品种的肉相比，Milanino 肉的水分损失和韧性较低。本研究结果支持根据其特定的直线自由放养系统进行 Milanino 鸡的肉用生产。
