6.1.3 – UNIPG: Adaptability to the free range

The chicken adaptability to extensive rearing system needs the evaluation of many traits able to simultaneously account the innate behaviors (e.g. kinetic and foraging attitude), the welfare and the health status (e.g. in vivo oxidation), the productive performance and the characteristics of meat (e.g. lipid content, PUFA and antioxidant profile).

PPILOW project demonstrated that different SG genotypes had different kinetic activity. SG with a higher growth rate generally showed more static behavior and less interest in exploring the outdoor run; however, not all the activity of SG is oriented towards foraging.

In vivo oxidative status and nutritional characteristics of meat are affected by the interaction between activity/intake of compounds assumed through grazing. Accordingly, the interaction among the intake of grass, and the kinetic activity (e.g. increase the oxidative drive) also affects the meat quality.

SG genotypes with a higher growth rate showed a greater storage efficiency of protein, fat and bioactive compounds (e.g. carotenes, tocopherols, PUFAn-3) and lower oxidative drive (e.g. TBARS, carbonyls).

Papers

• Intake of nutrients (polyunsaturated fatty acids, tocols, and carotenes) and storage efficiency in different slow-growing chickens genotypes reared in extensive systems; Mattioli S. et al. – Plos one – 2022
• New approaches to selecting a scan-sampling method for chicken behavioral observations and their practical implications; Cartoni Mancinelli, A et al. – Scientific Report 13 – 2023
• Effect of genotype and outdoor enrichment on productive performance and meat quality of slow growing chickens; Mattioli S. et al. – Poultry Science Vol 103, Issue 10 – 2024
• Effect of kinetic activity of slow-growing chickens on antioxidant, fatty acids profile, lipid oxidation and metabolism of blood and thigh muscles; Mattioli S. et al. – submitted to Animal, July 2024

Presentations

• Application of the Healthy Fatty Index to discriminate the meat nutritional quality of different slow-growing chickens – ASPA congress – 13-16 June 2023, Bari
• An index for adaptability evaluation of slow-growing chicken genotypes reared in free-range system – 75^th EAAP Annual Meeting – 1-4 September 2024 – Florence