Carcase yield and edible component parts of pheasants

E. A. Engku Azahan, M. S. Abd. Khalidand O. Zainab

Abstract

Two strains of imported pheasants, the ringneck and the black mutant, were evaluated for carcase yield and edible component parts at slaughter ages of 12 and 14 weeks. Both strains yielded dressed weights of 74–78% of liveweight and meat-to-bone ratios of between 4.2 and 4.9. The amount of edible carcase ranged from 77.9% to 82.7% of liveweight. The heaviest edible component part was the breast, accounting for 29.7–33.1% of the total edible weight. Other edible parts in the order of declining weights were the back, the thigh, the drumstick, the wing, the neck and the giblets. Within strain, differences between slaughter ages for all yield factors were small and not significant. Similarly, there were no significant differences between strains at each of the two slaughter ages.

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