Effect of Different Slaughter Ages on Carcass and Meat Quality Characteristics of Nigerian Indigenous Chickens

This study examines the effects of slaughter age on carcass yields, meat quality characteristics, and consumer sensory preferences for Nigerian indigenous chickens, generating data to inform the development of a structured indigenous chicken meat production and marketing value chain. Nigerian indigenous chickens are increasingly recognised as a premium specialty product in urban markets, where consumers pay significant premiums for their distinctive flavour, texture, and cultural associations. However, optimal slaughter age for market quality and production economics has not been systematically investigated. This study rears 240 Nigerian indigenous chickens (ecotype from Southwest Nigeria) under standardised semi-intensive conditions and slaughters groups of 40 birds at 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, and 28 weeks of age. Liveweight, dressing percentage, breast and thigh muscle proportions, cooking loss, shear force, collagen content, proximate composition, and fatty acid profile are measured at each slaughter age. A consumer panel of 80 participants evaluates flavour, texture, juiciness, and overall acceptability of meat from each age group using a 9-point hedonic scale. Findings reveal that shear force values are lowest at 16 weeks and increase significantly beyond 20 weeks due to collagen cross-linking in older birds. Consumer panels prefer birds slaughtered at 16 to 20 weeks, rating flavour and overall acceptability highest. Breast meat yield peaks at 20 weeks and declines thereafter. The feed conversion ratio deteriorates significantly after 20 weeks. The study recommends 16 to 20 weeks as the optimal slaughter age window for Nigerian indigenous chicken production targeting premium urban markets.

Keywords: slaughter age, indigenous chickens, carcass quality, meat sensory, Nigeria.