Quality of broiler meat of the free-range type submitted to diets containing alternative feedstuffs

The work had the intention of investigating the effect of the use of alternative feeds as part replacers in diet-formulating, evaluating the characteristic physicochemical alterations and centesimal composition of the free-range chicken. In the experiment a total of 192 (one hundred and ninety-two) birds of the Pescoço Pelado (Label Rouge) strain arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD) formed by 4 treatments (Treatment 1 (Control), Treatment 2 (10% of the inclusion of rice bran), Treatment 3 (10% of the inclusion of ground cassava leaf) and Treatment 4 (10% of the inclusion of ground leucaena hay) with 8 replicates per treatment were used. The results revealed greater values of b* (yellow), Saturation (C*) and pH for broiler meat with inclusion of ground cassava leaf and leucaena, while for the other variables of physicochemical composition, no influences of the treatments were not found. For centesimal composition the treatments showed greater values of moisture in relation to the control treatment. For sex, only a difference for the content of b* and C* was found, with higher values for female. The use of the alternative feedstuffs has not revealed marked influences on the chemical composition and quality parameters of free-ranging chicken’s meat with the use of replacement up to 10% in the diets