The effect human presence and interactions performed after hatch to 3 months of age has on ostrich meat quality, skin damage
and reproductive performance at a later age was investigated in 416-day-old ostrich chicks. The chicks were allocated to one of
the three treatments, which varied with regard to exposure to human presence and care for 3 months post-hatch: HP1—extensive
human presence with physical contact (touch, stroking), gentle human voice and visual contact; HP2—extensive human presence
with gentle human voice and visual contact without physical contact; S—standard control treatment, where human presence and
visual contact were limited to routine management, feed and water supply only. Carcass attributes (carcass weight, dressing
percentage and drumstick weight), meat quality traits (pH, colour and tenderness) and skin traits (skin size, skin grading and
number of lesions) were evaluated on twenty-four 1-year-old South African Black (SAB) ostriches
