In recent years, consumers have increasingly sought niche food products with specific aroma and flavour, and rich in nutrients. With a growing demand for quality poultry products, there is an opportunity to increase production of capons, which are more and more often marketed as high quality products, because their meat is more delicate, tender and juicy. Therefore the objective of this study was to compare meat quality parameters and rate of protein degradation between capon and cockerel breast muscle during postmortem aging. Fibre type diameter, intact desmin and dystrophin contents at 15 min, 24 h, and 48 h postmortem and the following technological parameters of breast meat were also determined: ph 15 , ph 24 , ph 48 , drip loss, shear force. The study was carried out on hybrids between Rhode Island Red cockerels (R-11) and Yellowleg Partridge hens (Ż-33) aged 24 weeks. The current findings indicate that compared with cockerel breast muscles, the capon breast muscles had significantly higher pH 15 (P≤0.01), and lower drip loss (P≤0.01) and shear force values (P≤0.05). Additionally, the intensity of intact desmin and dystrophin in capon breast samples at 24 h and 48 h postmortem was significantly lower (P≤0.05) than that in the cockerel breast sample. In turn, the lower rate of desmin and dystrophin degradation (P≤0.05), along with higher drip loss in cockerel compared to capon breast muscles, may account for their lower muscle fibre diameters at 24 h and 48 h postmortem. Moreover, the rate of early postmortem pH decline can partly explain the variation of desmin and dystrophin degradation.Muscles are an important part of the carcass composition and usually the main source of meat products for humans. In recent times, there has been an increase in the consumer demand for more variety and quality of poultry meat products, which

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The presented study focuses on assessing the effect of caponization on the densitometric, osteometric, geometric and biomechanical parameters of tibial bones in crossbred chickens. The study was carried out on 96 hybrids between Yellowleg Partridge hens (Ż-33) and Rhode Island Red cockerels (R-11) aged 16 weeks, 20 weeks and 24 weeks. Birds were randomly assigned to 2 groups – the control group (n = 48; which consisted of intact roosters) and the experimental group (n = 48, which consisted of individuals subjected to caponization at the age of 8 weeks). The caponization had no effect on the densitometric, osteometric and geometric parameters (except the horizontal internal diameter of 16-week-old individuals) of tibia bone, as well as the content of calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P) and the Ca/P ratio in the bone mineral fraction in all analyzed age groups of animals. However, it contributes to a lower percentage of ash in the bones of capons at 20 and 24 weeks of age compared to cockerels. On the contrary, some mechanical and material parameters show the negative effect of caponization. Ultimate load and bending moment decreased in capons in all of the analyzed age groups of animals and yield load, stiffness and ultimate stress also decreased but only in the group of 20-week-old and 24-week-old individuals. This can contribute to the weakening of the capon bones, and in the perspective of prolonged maintenance to their deformation and even fracture.

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