EFFECT OF PROTEASE ADDED IN FOOD AND SEX ON CHICKEN MEAT CLASESS

The effects of feeding low dietary crude protein with supplemental protease and sex on the weight and percent yields of individual meat classes in broiler chickens of hybrid Cobb 500 were investigated. A total of 300 day-old broiler chicks were fed with one of the following three experimental diets: control group (C), the experimental group I (E-I) contained 4% less crude protein than the control (C) and were supplemented with protease (Ronozyme Pro Act) at a concentration of 200mg/kg feed and the experimental group II (E-II) contained 6% less crude protein and were supplemented with protease (Ronozyme Pro Act) at a concentration of 300mg/kg feed. Supplementation of protease to diets had no significant effects on weights of individual meat classes (P>0.05), as well as the percentage of meat classes, and the only differences were manifested between E-I and E-II (P<0.05, female broilers from the E-I group were had a higher percentage of class I meat and a lower percentage of class III meat compared to females from the E-II group). The effect of sex was manifested in the weights of all meat classes and the percentage of class I meat and class III meat (P<0.05).