Fasting and Yield of Broilers

The shrinkage and yield of processing and cut-up were estimated on 1296 broilers at various ages (36, 43, and 50 days). The shrinkage varied between .20 and .25%/hr and depended on age. No significant differences were found in the percentages of shrinkage between male and female broilers. The yield values calculated as a percentage of the posthold live weight were almost independent of holding time, if this time was greater than 4 hr. The yield of the breast meat of broilers was increased by about 1%, and the yield of the legs was decreased by about the same amount; all other yield values were nearly the same as those from earlier experiments in 1981.