Page 4 - National Poultry News

What chickens eat can impact chicken meat colour and taste.
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In another German study published in the Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture and cited in the US’s Modern Farmer, the meat of three groups of chickens was analysed as, effectively, a taste test.
And the algae-fed birds even had a stronger, sa- voury chicken flavour.
Larvae-fed chicken meat also had a higher fatty acid content than the other two samples.
Chicken and the egg
Cant Comment by BRENDON CANT
WHILE it is no sur- prise that laying hens are genetically selected and bred for increased egg production per bird, some, including the likes of RSPCA, suggest this has had unintended bird welfare consequences, including behavioural changes and poor bone health.
strength than moderately productive hens.
ably not too flash for the environment.
looked, researchers found that the eco-friendly fed uncooked chicken dif- fered from the usual pack- aged chicken available at grocery stores.
According to RSPCA’s July Animal Welfare Sci- ence Update, higher rates of bone damage seen in high egg-producing hens is likely due to calcium being prioritised for egg production over bone health.
These results imply that only selecting for high productive traits in layer hens can consequently have a negative effect on hen welfare and health.
Researchers noticed that the larvae-fed chicken had less of an “adhesive texture” when they were chewing the meat, but the taste didn’t differ much.
The tasting panel noticed that the colour faded when the meat was cooked, but researchers believed the difference could deter consumers from initially buying the product.
Additionally, housing hens in larger pens with more space and lower stocking densities ap- peared to positively affect motor coordination, par- ticularly for moderately productive hens.
The German study compared the taste, tex- ture, odour and colour of the meat and found that chickens fed the alterna- tive diets didn’t taste that differently from those fed conventionally.
Larvae-fed chicken meat had a slightly yellow tint and the algae-fed a dis- tinctive orange hue.
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Behavioural issues also associated with high egg- producing hens include changes in hens’ ability to adapt to new groups and new environments.
They were fed black sol- dier fly larvae, spirulina algae and a conventional soybean diet.
Brianne Altmann, lead author of the study at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, described the report as one of the first to outline a “full sensory profile” of chicken meat.
However, past research showed that feeding those flies a different diet could alter the amount of fat in the chicken.
The RSPCA Update cited a German study of 742 laying hens at the In- stitute of Animal Welfare and Animal Husbandry of the Friedrich-Loeffler- Institute, which evaluated if egg production levels and genetics impacted hen motor coordination and bone health.
layer genetic lines, were divided into four groups and then housed in either small or large housing compartments.
Modern Farmer was clearly trying to make the case for feeding chick- ens a more eco-friendly diet, which makes some sense, as most US poultry producers have long opti- mised productivity by fat- tening with conventional soy-based feeds.
“Think a little bit about how a wine is described on the bottle.
With global meat con- sumption increasing by about 60 percent over the 20 years to 2018 to reach 360 million tonnes, and livestock the largest user of land resources, with pasture and arable land dedicated to feed produc- tion representing almost 80 percent of all agricultural land, it makes sense to me to focus on using feed op- tions that aren’t produced on arable land.
High and moderate egg- laying hens, plus hens from white and brown egg
Highly productive hens showed poorer motor co- ordination and lower bone
Although relatively in- expensive they are argu-
“The good news is the feed source only margin- ally changes the sensory profile, and when the pro- file changes, it’s for the better.”
The results suggested that genetic selection for high egg production sig- nificantly impacted hen motor coordination and bone strength.
“We can fully describe the eating experience,” she said.
“This is what we achieved with the meat.
As for how the meat
Standards and guidelines update
EGG Farmers of Aus- tralia representatives Be- de Burke (Egg Farmers of Australia chair and NSW director), Melinda Hashimoto (Egg Farm- ers of Australia CEO), David May (consult- ant) and Rod Jenner (poultry vet and techni- cal expert) recently met online with the Aus- tralian Animal Welfare Standard and Guidelines – Poultry panel compris- ing Renata Brooks, An- drew Fisher and Mark
Townend on Friday, July 17, 2020.
lars invested in produc- ing eggs for the nation and the finalisation of the standards will provide further stability to the in- dustry.
back on the engagement. Egg Farmers of Aus- tralia looks forward to reviewing the draft stand- ards when they are re- leased at the end of 2020.
sources available on the Agriculture Victoria web- site agriculture.vic.gov.au Egg Farmers of Aus- tralia AGM
The meeting cov- ered key areas of egg pro- duction, animal welfare, economic analysis and information regarding the egg industry’s position.
Egg Farmers of Aus- tralia held a members and stakeholders meeting on July 21 to provide feed-
Avian influenza
Members will soon re- ceive an invitation and information to attend this year’s AGM on November 5, 2020.
Australian egg farm- ers have millions of dol-
With a recent incident of avian influenza, please check out the various re-
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Page 4 – National Poultry Newspaper, August 2020
Andrew Fisher
Mark Townend
Melinda Hashimoto
Bede Burke
Rod Jenner
Renata Brooks
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