THE INFLUENCE OF REARING SYSTEM ON SKIN COLOUR IN BROILERS

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different rearing systems on the skin colour of commercial broilers. Research was carried out on 100 broilers of two different provenances (ross 208 and prelux-bro) up to 56 days of age. In the first half of the experiment the broilers were fed according to standard technology with bro starter which contained 23.44 % crude protein and 12.98 MJ/kg metabolizable energy. On the 28th day broilers were divided into two groups and fed with bro finisher which contained 70 % cereals, 14.0 % crude protein and 16.26 MJ/kg metabolizable energy. Half of the broilers were kept indoors without access to the grassland, while the other half had free access during the day (12 hours). Free range broilers showed a higher degree of pigmentation in skin colour than the broilers in confinement. The differences were statistically significant for the L* (lightness) and b*(yellowness) values.