EFFECTS OF LOW, NORMAL, AND HIGH-TEMPERATURES ON SLAUGHTER YIELD OF BROILERS FROM LINES SELECTED FOR HIGH WEIGHT-GAIN, FAVORABLE FEED CONVERSION, AND HIGH OR LOW FAT-CONTENT

Male and female broiler chicks from five different broiler crosses (WI = Israeli chicks selected for increased body weight; LF and HF = Israeli chicks selected for low and high abdominal fat, respectively; FC and WN = Dutch chicks selected for improved feed conversion and increased body weight, respectively) were raised at low, normal, or high temperature. Slaughter yield, amount of breast meat, and abdominal fat were determined at 6 wk of age in all groups and at a body weight of 2,360 g for males and 1,965 g for females in the low- and normal-temperature groups, and at 8 wk in the high-temperature groups. Temperature, genotype, and sex influenced both absolute and relative weights of carcass, breast meat, and abdominal fat. Temperature had a negative effect on breast meat yield. Males were affected more by high temperature than females. A significant interaction between temperature and sex for breast meat yield was caused by a low yield for males at the high temperature. A similar interaction for proportion of abdominal fat was caused by a high fat content in males reared at the high temperature. Slaughter yield and especially yield of breast meat were highest in FC chickens in all comparisons.