Carcass, Egg Characteristics and Leg Bone Dimensions of Pigeons of Different Origin

TL;DR

This study compares meat and egg traits of carrier and King pigeons, finding differences in carcass weight, bone dimensions, and egg characteristics.

Contribution

The study provides new comparative data on previously understudied traits like bone dimensions and egg characteristics between carrier and King pigeons.

Findings

Carrier and King pigeons differ significantly in carcass weight and muscle composition.

Pigeon origin affects egg weight, dimensions, and content traits, except for certain shell and yolk properties.

This is the first study comparing femur and tibia bone dimensions between these pigeon breeds.

Abstract

Pigeons have been kept since ancient times. Currently, keeping pigeons for flight and meat is highly popular. The aim of this study was to compare carrier and King pigeons at the age of 12 months in terms of weight and carcass composition. In addition, due to the small number of available publications, a comparison was made between the pigeon breeds evaluated in terms of femur and tibia dimensions, egg weight and dimensions, parameters of shell and yolk colour, and physical characteristics of egg content. The results of the study indicate a significant effect of pigeon breeds on carcass, egg, and femur and tibia bone traits.

In the past, studies have been conducted on the evaluation of meat traits of pigeons, but the knowledge obtained is incomplete and needs to be expanded. The purpose of this study was to obtain information on the weight and proportion of carcass elements, femur and tibia bone dimensions, and egg characteristics of meat of King breed and carrier pigeons. For this study, 16 carcasses of carrier pigeons and 16 carcasses of King pigeons were used, with 8 carcasses of males and 8 carcasses of females of each breed. Additionally, 20 eggs evaluated were from carrier pigeons and 20 eggs from King breed pigeons. The carcasses and eggs were obtained from birds that were 12 months old. The compared pigeon breeds differed (p < 0.05) significantly in terms of the weight of the eviscerated carcass with the neck; the content of neck, wings, pectoral and leg muscles in the carcass; as well as in terms of all specified dimensions of tibia and femur length and width. The origin of the pigeons had an effect (p < 0.05) on egg weight and dimensions, egg index, and the other studied egg traits, with the exception of eggshell weight and eggshell yellowness, yolk weight, yolk height, yolk diameter, and yolk index. So far, there have been no studies comparing carrier pigeons and King breed pigeons in terms of femur and tibia bone dimensions, morphological composition and egg dimensions, and egg content traits, which adds to the knowledge in this area and indicates the need for continuation in the future.