Effect of Fasting Prior to Slaughter on Yield of Broilers

THE objective of broiler production is to produce edible meat at the lowest cost. Many factors are involved. Nutrition and management are both important. Rapid growth is desirable, but feed required to produce a specific weight of broiler is often a more important factor in production cost. Feed consumed is of no economic value unless it is converted into edible tissue. It is economically wasteful when birds arrive at the processing line with full digestive tracts (Brown, 1963). The birds consumed feed which they did not have time to convert into edible tissue. The full digestive tracts are more difficult to remove and breakage may result. Soiling may result in condemnation of the carcass. Carcass composition can be changed by varying the diet, but there is little evidence that yield is materially altered by different rations (Harkin et al., 1960). The yield of eviscerated carcass tends to increase with increasing…