Local poultry quality must be specified by genotype and production system

The combination of genetics and production system has to prove itself in the carcass and meat, not only in growth rate. A study published on October 22 compares Fijian native chickens with native-by-broiler crosses in two systems: conventional indoor housing and outdoor scavenging.

The researchers used males and females from both chicken types, supplemented either with a commercial broiler diet or with sorghum and kitchen waste. Under scavenging conditions, the crossbreds matched native birds in several meat-quality and composition traits. In that system, meat from native chickens had a higher ultimate pH and less fat, while drumsticks, thighs, wings and carcasses from outdoor birds were heavier than those from indoor production.

The authors do not turn these findings into a broad sensory promise. They explicitly identify the need for further measurements of tenderness and juiciness. That caution matters: pH, mineral composition, protein content and cut weights are useful indicators, but they do not replace sensory panels or commercial specifications for texture, flavour and cooking performance.

The practical relevance for local-poultry programmes is clear. Crossbreeding can improve productivity without automatically losing the quality associated with a native breed, provided the production system is part of the specification. At the same time, the study argues against assigning quality to one factor alone. Breed, exercise, access to feed, supplementation and sex interact. Differentiated poultry offers therefore need origin or outdoor-rearing claims to be supported by product parameters that can be measured, repeated and explained to buyers.