CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF WHITE AND RED MEAT OF PUREBRED AND HYBRID TURKEYS

Abstract

The quality of turkey meat and its nutritional value depend on the breed, age, sex, fatness and anatomical origin of the meat, so the study of the chemical composition of muscle tissue of turkeys of different breeds and breed-linear hybrids is relevant. The aim of the study was to establish the features of the chemical composition of the pectoral and femoral muscles of purebred and hybrid turkeys. The research was carried out at the Genetic Selection Centre “North Caucasian Zonal Experimental Station of Poultry Farming”, a branch of the Federal Scientific Center “All-Russian Research and Technological Poultry Institute”, and the All-Russian Research Institute of Sheep and Goat Breeding, a branch of the FSBSI “North Caucasus Federal Agricultural Research Center” in 2023-2024. When the incubation of the eggs was completed, 50 day-old turkey poults of the Broad Breasted White (paternal line VI), Silver North Caucasian and Bronze North Caucasian breeds, as well as hybrids were selected for study: ½ Silver North Caucasian + ½ Broad Breasted White, line VI; ½ Bronze North Caucasian + ½ Broad Breasted White, line VI. After reaching the slaughter age, a control slaughter was carried out. In order to analyze the nutritional value of meat, samples of white (small pectoral muscle) and red (sural muscle) meat were taken from 6 carcasses (3 females and 3 males) of each group during anatomical cutting. It was found that the muscle tissue of Broad Breasted White turkeys of the line VI has high protein content and the lowest fat content. Silver North Caucasian and Bronze North Caucasian breeds are distinguished by a higher fat content, and the breed-linear hybrids, which are obtained on their basis, occupy an intermediate position. In general, the meat of all the studied breeds is characterized by good quality. The muscle tissue of the hybrids contains more dry matter, protein and less fat. This indicates an increase in the quality of the meat.