Effect of heat stress on growth, carcass and sensory parameters in synthetic broiler and native cross chicken

Poultry production in the tropics is mainly affected by environmental stressors, viz. temperature and humidity. The present investigation aimed to study the growth, carcass and meat quality of the two different genetic groups of chicken under control (spring season) and heat stress conditions (summer). During the spring season, the mean temperature of the poultry house was found to be 23.68 +/- 0.39 degrees C, while it was 34.41 +/- 0.52 degrees C during summer. Under both conditions, the body weights of both the genetic groups were recorded at 0, 7, 21 and 42 days of age. The carcass traits were recorded after 6 weeks of age and sensory evaluation was done by meat product preparation. The results showed no significant difference in the growth performance, carcass traits and sensory parameters of control and heat stress groups of native cross birds which might be due to better adaptability and heat tolerance potential, however, the synthetic broiler variety IBL80 was significantly affected by heat stress causing a 16.82% reduction in marketable weight as compared to the control group. According to the findings of the current study, native cross chickens had a higher capability for heat tolerance even if fast-growing synthetic broilers were superior in terms of growth performance and carcass production.