ENVIRONMENT, WELL-BEING, AND BEHAVIOR

Effect of Chronic Heat Exposure on Fat Deposition and Meat Quality

in Two Genetic Types of Chicken1
Q. Lu, J. Wen,2 and H. Zhang2
Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science,
State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Beijing, 100094, China
while the relevant indices of BJY chickens were not affected in hot condition. Abdominal fat deposition of BJY
chickens was enhanced by heat exposure (P < 0.05). Fat
deposition of AA broilers was decreased in heat-exposed
and pair-fed chickens. Abdominal and intermuscular fat
deposition in 34AL birds, however, were enhanced compared with 21PF birds (P < 0.01). The L* values, drip loss,
initial pH, and shear force of breast meat in BJY chickens
were not affected by treatments. In AA birds, chronic
heat stress increased L* values and drip loss compared
with 21AL, but pH and shear force were not affected by
treatments. The results from this study indicated that the
impact of heat stress was breed dependent and that BJY
chickens showed higher resistance to high ambient temperature, which could be related to their increased feed
efficiency and deposition of abdominal fat under heat exposure.

Key words: heat exposure, chicken, meat quality, fat deposition

2007 Poultry Science 86:10591064

INTRODUCTION
Genetic selection for broiler performance over the last
few decades has led to tremendous improvements in
growth (McKay et al., 2000; Deeb and Cahaner, 2002).
However, this growth potential has been achieved under
optimal conditions and may not occur under suboptimal
environmental conditions. High ambient temperature has
been recognized as one of the major environmental factors
influencing poultry production. Continuous selection for
increased growth rate may have increased sensitivity of
broilers to high ambient temperature (Cahaner et al.,
1995). The effects of heat exposure on growth rate, feed
intake, and meat yield of commercial broilers have been
well documented (Yalcin et al., 2001). Seasonal heat-stress
has been reported to accelerate postmortem glycolytic

2007 Poultry Science Association Inc.

Received July 17, 2006.
Accepted March 7, 2007.
1
Supported by grant 2004CB11750-6 and 2004CB11750-7 from the
National Basic Research Program of China.
2
Corresponding author: wenj@iascaas.net.cn or zhanghf6565@vip.
sina.com

metabolism leading to biochemical changes in muscle and

the production of pale, exudative meat characteristics in
chickens and turkeys (McKee and Sams, 1997; Sandercock
et al., 2001). These detrimental effects are exacerbated in
older birds (Sandercock et al., 2001).
Chronic exposure of growing pigs to a high ambient
temperature is associated with enhanced lipid metabolism in the liver and the adipose tissue (Kouba et al., 1999,
2001). As a consequence, plasma triglyceride uptake and
storage is facilitated in the adipose tissues, which results
in greater fatness (Kouba et al., 2001). Increased fatness
in long-term heat-exposed pigs was accompanied by the
changes in the distribution of adipose tissues: a shift of
body fat toward internal sites (Le Dividich et al., 1998)
and an increased weight of flare fat and increased ratio
of flare fat:back fat + flare fat were reported (Kouba et
al., 2001). The change in fat distribution in these heatexposed pigs would appear to increase heat loss and
represented an adaptation to high ambient temperature
(Le Dividich et al., 1998; Kouba et al., 2001). Heat-exposed
chickens also exhibit enhanced fat deposition (Ain Baziz
et al., 1990, 1996; Geraert et al., 1996). The relationship
between the change of fat deposition and the adaptation

1059

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ABSTRACT The effects of chronic heat stress on

growth, proportion of carcass and fat deposition, and
meat quality were investigated in 2 genetic types of chickens. One hundred and eight 5-wk-old male chickens from
a commercially fast-growing strain (Arbor Acres, AA)
and a locally slow-growing species (Beijing You chicken,
BJY) were kept in the following conditions: constant optimal ambient temperature at 21C and ad libitum feeding
(21AL), constant high ambient temperature at 34C and
ad libitum feeding (34AL), and constant optimal ambient
temperature 21C and pair-fed to the 34AL chickens
(21PF). The results showed that feed intakes were decreased by heat exposure in both type of chickens at 8
wk of age (P < 0.001). At 34C, AA broilers exhibited
greatly decreased weight gain (22.38 vs. 61.45 g/d for
21AL) and lower breast proportion compared with 21AL,

1060

LU ET AL.

to high ambient temperature of chickens has not been reported.

Behavioral, physiological, and metabolic responses to
aversive situations depend on genetic background and
prior experience of the animals (Terlouw, 2004). The negative effect on growth rate was found to be greater in
broilers with a higher genetic potential for growth rate
than in broilers with lower growth rates (Cahaner and
Leenstra, 1992). The objective of the present study was to
evaluate the effects of excessive heat exposure on carcass
composition, fat deposition, and meat quality in 2 breeds
of chickens reared in China. A commercial breed of chickens (Arbor Acres, AA) were compared with a slow-growing local species (Beijing You, BJY), which has highly
acceptable texture and flavor characteristics and is resistant to suboptimal growth conditions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Two hundred 1-d-old male chickens from commercial

AA broiler (from a commercial hatchery, Huadu Broiler
Company, Beijing, China) and BJY stocks (from Institute
of Animal Science of Chinese Academy of Agricultural
Sciences, which is a BJY chicken conservation organization in Beijing, China) were reared in floor pens for up
to 5 wk of age. Ambient temperature was gradually decreased from 32C at 1 d to 21C at 3 wk of age (rate of
decrease: 3C during the first week, 4C during the second
and the third weeks).
At wk 5, 108 broilers from each species with similar
BW (AA broiler, 1,377 62 g; BJY chicken, 412 25 g)
were transferred to 3 temperature-controlled chambers,
where all chickens were equally distributed to 3 treatments for 6 replicates of 6 chickens each: ambient temperature of 21C with ad libitum access to feed (21AL); ambient temperature of 34C and fed ad libitum (34AL); and
ambient temperature of constant 21C and pair-fed to the
amount consumed by the 34AL group (21PF). Relative
humidity was maintained at 50 5%.
A complete starter diet with 21.5% CP and 3,022 kcal/
kg of ME from 0 to 3 wk, and a grower diet with 19.3%
CP and 3,093 kcal/kg of ME from 4 to 8 wk were used.
Continuous light and unlimited water were provided
throughout the experiment.

Slaughter and Dissection Procedure

Feed intake was measured daily at 0900 h. Live weights
were recorded after a 12-h feed withdrawal at 5 and 8
wk of age. At 8 wk of age and following a 12-h period
of feed deprivation, 18 birds of each treatment were killed
by bleeding from a single neck cut, which severed the
right carotid artery and jugular vein. After bleeding, birds
were scalded in water at 60C for 45 s prior to defeathering, evisceration, and tissue sample collection.
Abdominal fat, composed of fat tissues surrounding
the proventriculus and gizzard lying against the inside

Meat Quality Measurements

Muscle samples were collected from the left side of the
pectoral major muscle for the assessment of drip loss and
shear force. The entire left side of the pectoral minor
muscle was measured for color determination. The upper
one-third of the pectoral major muscle from the right
side was used for pH measurement. The pH values were
determined 15 min postslaughter (initial pH, pHi) and
after chilling for 24 h at 4C in self-sealed plastic bags
(ultimate pH, pHu), using a portable pH meter (IQ150,
IQ Scientific Instruments Inc., Carlsbad, CA) equipped
with a stainless electrode (pH57-SS).
The color measurement was made by a spectrocolorimeter (model WSC-S, Shanghai Shenguang Ltd., China)
using the CIELAB system (L* = lightness; a* = redness;
b* = yellowness). Each sample was scored on 3 different
areas. Drip loss was determined by the filter paper
method of Kauffman et al. (1986). The left breast was
weighed and placed in plastic bags and freely suspended
using steel wire hook at 4C. Muscle contact with the
inside surface of the bag was kept to a minimum. Muscle
samples were wiped and weighed 24 h later to evaluate
the drip loss, which was expressed as a percentage of the
initial muscle weight.
Shear force was measured using a universal WarnerBratzler testing machine (G. R. Electric Manufacturing
Co., Manhattan, KS). Muscle samples were stored at 4C
for 24 h and were then individually cooked in a water
bath at 80C in plastic bags to an internal temperature of
70C. The samples then were removed and chilled to
room temperature. Strips [1.0 cm (width) 0.5 cm (thickness) 2.5 cm (length)] parallel to the muscle fiber were
prepared from the medial portion of the meat and sheared
vertically (Molette et al., 2003). Shear force was expressed
in kilograms.

Statistical Analysis
Results are presented as means with their standard
deviations. The data were classified by treatment and

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Animals and Management

abdominal wall and around the cloaca, was collected as

described by Ain Baziz et al. (1996). Subcutaneous fat and
intermuscular fat were taken from the leg according to
Ricard et al. (1983) and Ain Baziz et al. (1996). The subcutaneous fat included the skin and associated subcutaneous fat of thigh and drumstick, and the fat associated
with the sartorius muscle. The skin and subcutaneous fat
were removed carefully by lifting it and slowly scraping
the undersurface with a scalpel according to Bochno et
al. (2004). The fat associated with the sartorius muscle
was taken off carefully using a forceps according to the
method of Ricard et al. (1983). Intermuscular fat of leg
mainly existed in the thigh region, and the fat located
between the individual muscles of the thigh was collected
carefully as outlined by Ricard et al. (1983).
Breast muscle and leg were removed, according to the
standard method of dissection as described by Jensen
(1984). Carcass, dissected fat and muscle tissues, and legs
were weighed.

1061

HEAT STRESS AND MEAT QUALITY IN BROILERS

Table 1. Average feed intake, body weight gain of male Arbor Acres broilers (AA) and Beijing You chickens
(BJY) in 3 treatments from 5 to 8 wk of age1
Item

Breed

21AL2

21PF2

Feed intake, g/d

AA
BJY

169.9 7.9
55.5 1.5a

Final BW, g

AA
BJY

2,618.9 110.9a
721.3 60.1a

Weight gain, g/d

AA
BJY

61.45 4.56a
15.12 2.13a

Feed to gain ratio

AA
BJY

2.76 0.21b
3.73 0.64a

Mortality3

AA
BJY

3
0

34AL2

94.0
43.8
1,961.8
682.7

4.5
1.5b
89.0b
40.6a

29.45
12.86
3.21
3.36

4.65b
1.72a
0.41bc
0.21ab

2
0

P-value

93.6
43.1
1,876.4
713.6

4.8
2.0b
92.3b
41.1a

***
***
***
NS

22.29
14.84
3.92
2.91

4.07c
1.33a
0.76a
0.34b

***
NS
*
*

13
0

**
NS

Data in a row with no common superscript differ significantly (P < 0.05).

Means SD of 36 chickens per treatment.
2
21AL = the treatment of 21C and ad libitum feeding; 34AL = the treatment of 34C and ad libitum feeding;
and 21PF = the treatment of 21C and pair-fed to the 34AL chickens.
3
The number of the dead chickens from 36 chickens per treatment. The data were subjected to 2 analysis.
*P 0.05; **P 0.01; ***P 0.001.
ac
1

RESULTS
Growth Performance
Effects of heat exposure on feed intake, BW gain, and
final body weight are presented in Table 1. In the case of
AA broilers, feed intake, final BW, and weight gain of
heat-exposed birds (34AL) were significantly lower than
those obtained for the 21AL group (P < 0.001), but
feed:gain ratio of 34AL group was significantly higher
than those of the 21AL group (P < 0.05). Heat-exposed
chickens had lower weight gain than that of pair-fed birds
(P < 0.05).
In the case of BJY chickens, feed intake and feed gain
ratio of heat-exposed broilers were reduced (P < 0.001
and P < 0.05, respectively), but the final BW and weight
gain were not significantly different when compared with
the controls (21AL). Body weight gain of pair-fed birds
was lower than that observed for the 21AL birds (P < 0.10).
During the growth phase in the temperature-controlled
rooms, the mortality of AA broilers was 36, 8.3, and 5.6%
in 34AL, 21AL, and 21PF groups, respectively. All of the
BJY groups survived the experimental feeding period.

Proportion of Carcass,
Muscle, and Fat Tissues
The proportion of carcass, breast muscle, and abdominal fat in BW and the proportion of subcutaneous fat and

intermuscular fat in the leg are presented in Table 2. When

the AA broilers were compared with the 21AL group,
high temperature exposure increased carcass percentage
(P < 0.01) and leg proportion (P < 0.05), but decreased
breast proportion. At 21C, the proportions of carcass,
breast, and leg were not affected by feed restriction. With
ad libitum feeding, heat stress resulted in decreased fat
content of birds. For example, subcutaneous fat and intermuscular fat deposition decreased significantly (P < 0.01),
whereas abdominal fat decreased slightly (P > 0.05). At
the same feeding level, heat stress enhanced abdominal
fat and intermuscular fat deposition (34AL vs. 21PF; P <
0.01). In BJY chickens, high temperature had no effect on
carcass, breast, and leg proportions when compared with
the control group (21AL). Feed restriction decreased
breast and leg proportion (P < 0.05) compared with the
other 2 treatments. Abdominal fat pad was enhanced
significantly in heat-exposed birds (34AL vs. 21PF; P <
0.05), whereas subcutaneous fat and intermuscular fat
deposition had no difference among different treatments
(P > 0.05).

Meat Quality
The effects of heat exposure and feeding pattern on
pH, color, drip loss, and shear force of breast were presented in Table 3. In the case of AA broilers, heat exposure
had no effect on pHi and pHu compared with 21AL. The
data on color measurement showed that the 34AL birds
had higher L* (vs. 21AL; P < 0.05). Shear force values
showed no marked difference due to treatment. Drip loss
in muscle from the heat-exposed birds and feed-restricted
birds were significantly higher than that observed in 21AL
(P < 0.05). In the case of BJY chickens, pHi were not
significantly modified by the rearing conditions, but
higher pHu was exhibited by the 34AL birds (P < 0.05).
Hot condition or feed restriction had no effect on meat
color, drip loss, or shear force of breast meat.

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replicate, and the data from all replicates were pooled

into a completely randomized block design. The data
were subjected to ANOVA to determine the effect of treatments on traits using the GLM procedure of SAS software
(SAS Institute, 1989). Data from indices of meat quality
under different treatments were subjected to correlation
analysis to determine the link between the characteristics
of meat. Mortality data was subjected to 2 analysis.

1062

LU ET AL.
Table 2. Average proportion of carcass, breast, and fat proportion of male Arbor Acres broilers (AA) and Beijing
You chickens (BJY) in 3 treatments1
21AL2

34AL2

P-value

73.89 0.85b
62.59 0.10a

75.27 0.89a
64.87 1.47a

**
NS

16.88 1.00ab
8.51 0.35b

15.99 0.65b
9.43 0.29a

*
*

25.33 1.46b
21.41 0.61b

26.61 0.83a
22.91 0.85a

*
*

0.75 0.10b
0.63 0.20b
g/100 g of leg

1.35 0.19a
0.89 0.17a

**
*

13.76 1.33a
13.70 1.33a

10.96 0.72b
13.12 0.19a

11.08 0.98b
14.00 0.63a

**
NS

0.43 0.05a
0.32 0.07a

0.22 0.02c
0.28 0.07a

0.35 0.04b
0.32 0.07a

***
NS

Item

Breed

Carcass

AA
BJY
AA
BJY
AA
BJY
AA
BJY

73.36
65.97
16.96
9.51
25.27
23.02
1.57
0.59

Subcutaneous fat

AA
BJY

Intermuscular fat

AA
BJY

21PF2
g/100 g of BW

Breast
Leg
Abdominal fat

0.72b
4.76a
0.34a
1.02a
0.44b
1.11a
0.23a
0.11b

Data in a row with no common superscript differ significantly (P < 0.05).

Means SD of 36 chickens per treatment.
2
21AL = the treatment of 21C and ad libitum feeding; 34AL = the treatment of 34C and ad libitum feeding;
and 21PF = the treatment of 21C and pair-fed to the 34AL chickens.
*P 0.05; **P 0.01; ***P 0.001.
ac
1

The consequences of chronic heat exposure generally

involve a reduction in feed intake, growth rate, feed efficiency, meat yield, and quality. These negative effects are
found to be greater in poultry with a high potential for
growth rate (Cahaner and Leenstra, 1992; Cahaner et al.,
1998; Settar et al., 1999; Yunis and Cahaner, 1999). The
present results, in general, confirm the above findings.
Heat exposure decreased feed intake by about 3.4% in
AA broilers and 1.7% in BJY chickens per degree increase
in temperature between 21 and 34C. Furthermore, heat
exposure decreased BW and weight gain largely in the

AA broilers. The reduction in growth was higher than

that obtained by Ain Baziz et al. (1996). However, this
could be related to higher ambient temperature used in
our study (constant 34C vs. constant 32C). The growth
in BJY chicken was not affected by heat exposure (P >
0.05), which suggested that BJY chickens had higher resistance to high ambient temperature.
Feed efficiency under hot conditions differs somewhat
between mammals and birds. Feed to weight gain ratio
is enhanced in hot conditions in chickens (Howlider and
Rose, 1989; Ain Baziz et al., 1996). On the other hand, an
improvement in feed efficiency was often observed in
rats and pigs under heat exposure (Christon et al., 1984;

Table 3. The pH, color, drip loss, shear force, and intramuscular lipid of breast meat of male Arbor Acres
broilers (AA) and Beijing You chickens (BJY) in 3 treatments1
Item
Initial pH
Ultimate pH
L* value3
a* value3
b* value3
Drip loss, %
Shear force, kg;
1 0.5 2.5 cm

Breed
AA
BJY
AA
BJY
AA
BJY
AA
BJY
AA
BJY
AA
BJY
AA
BJY

21AL2
6.08
5.95
6.00
5.87
45.08
47.08
8.67
8.70
5.10
5.91
1.56
3.90
1.17
1.67

21PF2
a

0.08
0.07a
0.10ab
0.03b
1.00b
1.11a
0.71a
0.57a
0.44a
0.67a
0.23b
1.05a
0.22a
0.39a

5.95
5.89
5.90
5.86
45.79
46.89
9.87
8.71
5.11
5.71
3.04
4.63
1.57
1.46

34AL2
b

0.07
0.09a
0.06b
0.08b
0.70ab
0.32a
1.17a
0.98a
0.33a
0.57a
0.97a
1.31a
0.49a
0.28a

6.15
5.89
6.09
5.96
47.05
47.10
8.89
7.85
5.76
6.38
2.41
3.70
1.33
1.38

P-value
a

0.09
0.07a
0.09a
0.06a
2.02a
0.77a
2.98a
0.74a
1.44a
0.47a
0.27a
0.79a
0.14a
0.18a

**
NS
**
*
*
NS
NS
NS
NS
NS
*
NS
NS
NS

Data in a row with no common superscript differ significantly (P < 0.05).

Means SD of 36 chickens per treatment.
2
21AL = the treatment of 21C and ad libitum feeding; 34AL = the treatment of 34C and ad libitum feeding;
and 21PF = the treatment of 21C and pair-fed to the 34AL chickens.
3
L* = lightness; a* = redness; b* = yellowness.
*P 0.05; **P 0.01.
a,b
1

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DISCUSSION

HEAT STRESS AND MEAT QUALITY IN BROILERS

dietary energy was stored as fat, the lower heat produced,

thus less heat needed to be dispersed.
In summary, BJY chickens and AA broilers responded
differently to heat stress in relation to growth, meat quality, and proportion of carcass, muscle, and fat deposition.
The findings suggest that the impact of heat stress could
be breed dependent, and the local, slow-growing chickens
had higher resistance and adaptability to hot conditions.
By comparing to pair-fed birds, it can be deduced that
the impact of heat exposure on the growth, carcass and
muscle proportion, and fat deposition in the 2 breeds of
birds may be related to the direct effect of high ambient
temperature and not be associated with the decreased
feed intake induced by heat exposure.
Stress reactions prior to slaughter may influence ante
and postmortem muscle metabolism, and consequently,
the rate and extent of glycogen breakdown, pH decline,
and drip loss. The effect is principally due to variations
in adenosinetriphosphatase activity and muscle glycogen
reserve (Terlouw, 2004). Seasonal heat stress accelerates
postmortem metabolism and biochemical changes in the
muscle, which produces a faster pH decline, lower ultimate pH, and higher L* values in turkey meat (McKee
and Sams, 1997). But acute heat stress appeared to have
no effect upon breast meat color in broilers (Sandercock
et al., 2001) and turkeys (Froning et al., 1978). In the
present study, heat-exposed AA broilers had higher L*
values than the controls (21AL). The results of enhanced
L* values in heat-stressed AA broilers are in agreement
with the report of McKee and Sams (1997), which showed
that chronic heat stress increased the lightness in muscle.
The BJY chickens in the present trial did not exhibit significant changes of L* values under any of the 3 treatments. The impact of stress response on meat quality is
not inevitable. Terlouw (2004) indicated that production
of meat with normal ultimate pH does not necessarily
mean that animals have not been stressed. In the present
study, high mortality and decreased growth, carcass, and
breast muscle yield during heat exposure indicated that
the treatment did indeed cause physiological stress in
AA broilers, even though the resulting meat did have
normal pH.
Drip loss was greater in muscles from heat-exposed
AA broilers in this study. This result was in accord with
most reports (McKee and Sams, 1997; Sandercock et al.,
2001). Warriss and Brown (1987) suggested that pHi is
the most important factor in determining drip loss in
porcine muscle. In the present study, pHi exhibited a
negative correlation to drip loss in AA broilers under hot
conditions (r = 0.7826), which may partly support the
Warriss and Brown hypothesis
Shear force of heat-exposed AA broilers increased
slightly but not significantly. Tenderness of meat is considered to be strongly related to pHu (Watanabe et al.,
1996); however, this close relationship was not observed
in this study. A positive correlation between drip loss
and shear force was observed in this study (r = 0.9770 in
21PF AA broilers; and r = 0.8907 in 21AL BJY chickens).

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Rinaldo and Le Dividich, 1991). Ain Baziz et al. (1996)

considered that birds adapted to hot conditions somewhat differently than mammals, suggesting changes in
regulation. In the present study, the feed efficiency of
heat-stressed AA broilers was decreased, in line with the
above reports on chickens. On the other hand, the results
obtained for BJY chickens were more in line with those
reported for pigs. Therefore, the results in the present
work suggested that the regulatory mechanism of BJY
chickens at high ambient temperature was different to
that functioning in AA broilers. The results also showed
that BJY chickens had a higher feed efficiency, which
would account for the maintenance of growth under
hot conditions.
The proportion of carcass under hot conditions increased in AA broilers. Ain Baziz et al. (1996) reported
similar results for chickens held at a constant temperature
of 32C. These findings could be explained by reduced
feather proportion to improve heat losses (Geraert et al.,
1996). In the present study, heat-exposed AA broilers
also had significantly reduced breast muscle proportion,
which meant that meat yield of AA broilers was decreased
by heat exposure. The carcass, breast, and leg proportion
of BJY chickens did not change under the constant heat
stress at 34C, which strengthened the conclusion that
BJY chickens had higher resistance to high ambient temperature.
The present results also showed that AA broilers exposed to heat stress had slightly decreased abdominal fat
deposition (1.57 vs. 1.35%, P > 0.05) and significantly
decreased subcutaneous fat (13.76 vs. 11.08%, P < 0.05)
as well as intermuscular fat deposition (0.43 vs. 0.35%, P
< 0.05) compared with 21AL. On the other hand, Ain
Baziz et al. (1996) and Geraert et al. (1996) observed that
enhanced fat deposition under chronic heat exposure conditions. Other workers (Smith, 1993; Smith and Teeter,
1993) also reported a significant decrease in fat deposition
due to heat stress. The differences reported above could
be related to the age of the animal, the model of heat
stress (constant or cyclic), the method used to measure
the fat index (abdominal fat was generally used as the
single fatness index), and chicken breed. At 21C, fat
deposition of AA broilers decreased significantly due to
feed restriction (P < 0.01). The effect of feed restriction was
more pronounced than that induced by heat exposure.
Therefore, fat deposition in AA broilers was enhanced
by high ambient temperature at the same feeding level.
For BJY chicken in this study, heat exposure enhanced
abdominal fat deposition significantly. Enhanced abdominal fat deposition seems to have an advantage under hot
conditions. Le Dividich et al. (1998) reported that high
ambient temperature increased abdominal fat in pigs, and
Kouba et al. (2001) found flare fat was increased in pigs
under heat exposure. These increased amounts of internal
fat in pigs could reduce thermal insulation, which was
useful to adapt to high ambient temperature. The enhanced abdominal fat deposition in BJY chickens is probably an adaptive regulation under hot conditions; the more

1063

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LU ET AL.

Neither drip loss or shear force of BJY chickens was affected by the treatments.
The data showed that chronic heat exposure had negative effects on growth performance, breast yield, and meat
quality in AA broilers, but had no significant influence
on growth and meat quality in the local, slow-growing
chickens. The possible mechanism of high adaptability to
hot conditions of BJY chickens might be associated with
their increased feed efficiency and abdominal fat deposition in high ambient temperature.

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