This study aimed to determine the carcass and meat quality of broiler chickens
based on the slaughter age (28, 30, 32, and 34 days). The carcass
characteristics included live and carcass weights, carcass rate, dressing rate,
and retail cut weight. The meat quality properties were determined through
proximate composition, pH, color, water holding capacity (WHC), cooking yield,
and shear-force. The broiler chicken live, carcass, breast, thigh, and wing
weights significantly increased with the slaughter age (
p
< 0.05); the tenderloin weight also exhibited a similarly increasing
trend. However, the carcass rate of the day 28 sample was significantly lower
than the other samples (
p
< 0.05). The protein and ash
contents of the breast exhibited an increasing trend with increasing slaughter
age. The protein content of the thigh of the day 28 sample was significantly
lower than that of the other samples (
p
< 0.05), while
the ash contents of the day 28 and 30 samples were significantly lower. The
redness of the breast showed an increasing trend, and the pH and lightness of
the thigh exhibited a decreasing trend with slaughter age. The WHC and cooking
yields of the day 30 and 32 breast and thigh samples were significantly higher
than those of the day 28 and 34 samples (
p
< 0.05). The
breast and thigh shear-force of the day 30–34 samples were significantly
higher than those of the day 28 sample (
p
< 0.05). The
present study showed that even with a two-day difference in slaughter age, the
broiler chicken meat quality showed a significant difference in several
characteristics.