Relationship of Sex, Age, and Body Weight to Broiler Carcass Yield and Offal Production

Abstract

Male and female broilers (feather-sexable strain) at 28, 35, 42, and 49 days of age were utilized to determine the effect of sex, age, and BW on yield of various offal and edible carcass components. Individual bird BW ranged from 756 to 2,970 g. During processing, weight of blood, feathers, head, neck, feet, preen gland, heart, liver, gizzard, gastrointestinal tract, fat pad, hind half (legs, thighs, and saddle), wings, Pectoralis major, breast skin, Pectoralis minor, back with lungs, rib cage, water uptake, and whole dressed carcass were determined. Regression analyses were used to generate equations describing the relationship between carcass components and BW for each sex and with the sexes combined. The data were also subjected to analysis of variance to determine age and sex effects on an absolute weight and percentage of live BW basis. Yields of body components changed with increasing age and BW. In general, the percentage of edible components increased, and the percentage of offal decreased with increasing age and BW. When expressed on a percentage of live BW basis, significant sex effects existed for feathers, head, neck, feet, heart, liver, fat pad, hind half, breast skin, and Pectoralis minor. Thus, the yield of offal components vary more by sex than does yield of edible carcass components.