Table 2.
Mean values and SED of muscle and meat quality traits in male broilers exposed to conventional or cool environmental temperatures from 3 to 6 weeks of age.
| Trait | Conventional | Cool | SED | Significance (P) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rectal temperature (°C) | 41.4 | 41.2 | 0.05 | 0.025 |
| Creatine kinase, ln mU/mla | 5.68 (293) | 5.82 (338) | 0.112 | 0.200 |
| pHi | 6.82 | 6.84 | 0.062 | 0.551 |
| phu | 5.92 | 5.95 | 0.034 | 0.530 |
| L*i | 59.1 | 57.3 | 0.40 | 0.006 |
| a*i | 12.8 | 13.8 | 0.36 | 0.038 |
| b*i | 7.18 | 6.26 | 0.292 | 0.025 |
| L*u | 62.5 | 60.2 | 0.87 | 0.043 |
| a*u | 11.7 | 12. 8 | 0.24 | 0.007 |
| b*u | 7.48 | 6.79 | 0.446 | 0.183 |
| Moisture loss (%) | 24.5 | 23.8 | 0.99 | 0.556 |
| Maximum load (N) | 3.00 | 2.96 | 0.044 | 0.472 |
| Stiffness (N/mm) | 5.71 | 6.92 | 0.201 | 0.002 |
aBack-transformed means in parenthesis.