Carcass and Meat Quality Traits of Medium-Growing Broiler Chickens Fed Soybean or Pea Bean and Raised under Semi-Intensive Conditions.

A study was carried out to evaluate the effect of the total replacement of flaked soybean ( Glycine max L., SOY) with raw pea ( Pisum sativum L. , PEA) on the carcass and meat quality traits of two medium-growing broiler strains (Kabir Rosso Plus, KB; New Red, NR). Birds were housed in 20 pens (five replications/groups, six birds each). At 83 days of age, 40 birds (2/replication) were slaughtered and the pectoral muscle (PM) was removed for analyses. Diet did not affect slaughter weight, carcass traits and meat quality. A pea diet determined a significant increase of MUFA and a decrease of PUFA, n-3 and n-6 PUFA; hence, the pea-fed group had a lower PUFA/SFA and a higher n-6/n-3 ratios compared to the soy-fed. NR chickens were heavier, with higher carcass and cut weights ( p < 0.01) compared to KB chickens. Interactions ( p < 0.05) between factors were found for PM weight and yield. Meat from NR had a higher ( p < 0.05) pH. Fatty acids were slightly affected by genotype. Replacing soybean with pea adversely affects meat fatty acid composition in terms of nutritional profile.