Gw. Barbour et Ms. Lilburn, CHARACTERIZATION OF CARCASS DEVELOPMENT FROM 14 TO 145 DAYS OF AGE INTURKEY HENS FROM 2 STRAINS, Poultry science, 74(10), 1995, pp. 1650-1658
Body weight and carcass components were measured from 14 to 145 d in N
icholas (MC) and Hybrid (HYB) strain turkey hens. At most ages, BW of
HYB hens was greater than that of NIC and there were small but signifi
cant differences in the weight of the Pectoralis minor (PMIN). The rel
ative weight of the PMIN increased in HYB hens from 98 to 145 d. No st
rain differences in either the absolute or relative weights of the Pec
toralis major (PMAJ) were observed. The absolute and relative weights
of the tibia plus associated muscles (DRUM) and femur plus associated
muscles (THIGH) were significantly heavier in HYB hens. The same was t
rue for the Gastrocnemius muscle (GASTROC). The relative weight of the
abdominal fat pad (ABFAT) was significantly increased in NIC hens com
pared with HYB hens from 70 to 145 d. There was a linear relationship
between the relative weight of the PMAJ and BW in hens from both strai
ns (NIC, r(2) = .69; HYB, r(2) = .51). The relationship between the re
lative weight of the PMIN and BW was best described with a quadratic m
odel but the r(2) in both strains was considerably lower than that for
the PMAJ (NIC, r(2) = .26; HYB, r(2) = .36). The linear relationship
between BW and the relative weights of the THIGH and DRUM was negative
and positive for ABFAT.