Journal of Animal Research

Poultry meat, as source of high-quality animal proteins, is important for sustaining health and nutrition of ever growing human population. Carcass traits are economically important for the chicken industry. The present study was planned to evaluate the carcass traits among Kadaknath, Narmada Nidhi and Rhode Island Red birds. The birds were kept in deep litter in identical conditions and were fed with the same standard commercial broiler diet. Twenty birds from each genetic group were sacrificed at 12 weeks of age for obtaining data pertaining to carcass traits namely live weight, carcass weight, dressing percentage, breast muscle weight, wings, drumstick weight and thigh muscle weight. The statistical analysis was done by analysis of variance using SPSS 20.0 package and means were compared by DMRT. The study revealed that body weight of Narmada Nidhi was higher than Rhode Island Red and Kadaknath, and within breed males grew faster than females. The results showed that carcass parameters viz., live weight, carcass weight, dressing percentage, wings, drumstick weight and thigh muscle weight of Narmada Nidhi and Rhode Island Red birds were significantly (P<0.05) higher than that of Kadaknath birds. Breast muscle weight differed significantly among these three genetic groups (P<0.05). However, the differences in dressing percentage among three genetic groups were found to be non-significant (P>0.05). The result indicated that these three breeds of different genetic groups differed in various carcass traits. Narmada Nidhi birds were found to be superior followed by Rhode Island Red as compared to Kadaknath for carcass traits.