Table 3.
Performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality traits of Ross PM3 male broilers fed with diets differing in CP contents between 21 and 35 days of age (experiment 2)
| Diets | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CP19% | CP17.5% | CP16% | SEM | P-value | |
| Performance 1 | |||||
| BW at day 35 (g) | 2288 | 2332 | 2324 | 12.4 | 0.32 |
| BW gain (g) | 1338 | 1380 | 1374 | 12.1 | 0.32 |
| Feed intake (g) | 2242 | 2323 | 2348 | 19.1 | 0.053 |
| Feed conversion ratio | 1.68 | 1.68 | 1.71 | 0.01 | 0.17 |
| Carcass characteristics 2 | |||||
| Breast meat yield (% of BW) | 20.8 | 20.9 | 21.4 | 0.10 | 0.06 |
| Abdominal fat (% of BW) | 1.93b | 2.09ab | 2.15a | 0.04 | 0.02 |
| Meat quality traits 2 | |||||
| Ultimate pH | 5.92c | 6.04b | 6.14a | 0.02 | <0.001 |
| Lightness | 51.6a | 49.5b | 46.3c | 0.30 | <0.001 |
| Drip loss (%) | 3.07a | 2.53ab | 2.33b | 0.13 | 0.045 |
1
n=8/treatment.
2
n=32/treatment.
a,b,cValues within a row with different superscripts differ significantly at P<0.05.