Growing consumer demand for animal welfare and environmental sustainability in the poultry industry is driving the adoption of outdoor access for broiler chickens in the United States. However, shifting to outdoor access from conventional housing may pose tradeoffs for animal welfare, meat quality, and food safety. Research comparing conventional and outdoor access housing on these attributes has not been reviewed for approximately a decade. We reviewed and compared animal welfare, food safety, and meat quality outcomes in conventional versus outdoor access broiler production, focusing on recent research. Despite the prevailing notion that outdoor access improves animal welfare due to more behavioral opportunities, the utilization of the range is highly variable and affected by a variety of environmental, management, and bird characteristics. Outdoor areas containing vegetation and tree cover promote use by the birds, and slow-growing breeds appear to be best suited for these production systems. Typically, welfare-related health outcomes (i.e., footpad dermatitis, mortality, and lameness) are improved with outdoor access. However, birds with outdoor access are at a higher risk for endo- and ectoparasitic infections. Antimicrobial resistance is typically lower on outdoor access farms, and birds with outdoor access have more diverse microbiomes. There are mixed results for the prevalences of Salmonella and Campylobacter between conventional and outdoor access farms. Meat quality varies in complex ways related to rearing system, age, breed, diet, and behavior. Meat from outdoor access broilers may present better taste or flavor, yet there can be tradeoffs for texture and moisture, particularly for older, slower-growing breeds that are typical of outdoor access production. Taken together, studies to date indicate multiple benefits and tradeoffs for animal welfare, food safety, and meat quality. Variations in management between farms and certification criteria result in inconsistent outcomes. The majority of outdoor access research has been conducted outside of the United States. Region-specific research accounting for geography, climate, and available breeds would be beneficial for improving outdoor access production outcomes in the United States.

This study investigated the effects of the silvopastoral (SP) rearing system compared with a conventional (CV) indoor system, along with the influence of broiler breed (fast-growing, FAST vs. slow-growing, SLOW), on carcass traits (yields), meat quality, myopathy incidence, fatty acid profile, oxidative stability (TBARS), and sensory attributes. A 2 × 2 factorial design was conducted, using 250 birds per treatment, with 5 replicate pens (50 birds/pen). For data collection, 10 birds were selected from each pen for processing, giving a total of 5 replicates and 50 samples per treatment. FAST consistently exhibited superior carcass and breast yields, while SLOW had minimal breast muscle myopathies, regardless of the system. Several physicochemical traits were primarily influenced by the breed, with SLOW's breast exhibiting a greater content of connective tissue and shear force. In comparison, FAST exhibited greater moisture content. The housing system influenced lipid composition and oxidative stability, with SP meat exhibiting lower saturated fatty acid content than CV (40.16% vs. 42.04%) and reduced TBARS values (1.50 vs. 1.59 mg MDA/kg). However, the effect of SP on FAST was limited, as cooking loss did not differ between SP and CV systems (30.91% vs. 32.76%). Sensory results showed minimal differences; meat from CV birds was rated slightly juicier, while SLOW's meat was described as chewier and gummier. Overall, trade-offs were identified between yield performance and meat quality; meat from fast-growing birds had greater production efficiency but exhibited a greater incidence of muscular abnormalities. SP production demonstrated the potential to enhance certain meat quality traits without compromising sensory acceptance, albeit at a lower yield expense.

High-oleic peanuts are an energy-dense, protein-rich alternative to conventional poultry feed ingredients and may have an impact on meat quality in spent laying hens, which are typically diverted to low-value uses. This study evaluated the effects of unblanched high-oleic peanuts at five levels (0 %, 5 %, 10 %, 15 %, 20 %) into layer diets for 8 wks on carcass traits, meat composition, physicochemical properties, lipid stability, and sensory quality of spent layers. Diets were isonitrogenous (18 % crude protein) and isocaloric (3,080 kcal/kg metabolizable energy). A total of 200 hens were acclimated for 7 days, then randomly assigned to treatments (n = 5 replicates of 8 hens each). Ten hens per treatment were processed to assess body weight, carcass yield, breast meat pH, color, texture profile, water-holding capacity, proximate composition, lipid oxidation, and sensory attributes. Peanut inclusion up to 20 % did not adversely affect growth performance or carcass yield (P > 0.05). Meat pH and color were influenced in some dietary treatments, though all values remained within acceptable ranges for commercial meat. Moderate inclusion (10-15 %) greatly increased breast meat protein content, reduced fat and collagen levels, and improved moisture retention (P < 0.05), indicating enhanced nutritional quality and processing potential. Water-holding capacity parameters (purge, thaw, cook loss) were not different among treatments (P > 0.05). Likewise, texture profile attributes did not differ (P > 0.05) from control values. Lipid oxidation remained low and stable during extended frozen storage, consistent with the oxidative stability conferred by the peanuts' high oleic acid and polyphenol content. Sensory evaluation indicated that flavor, texture, and overall acceptability remained consistent across treatments (P > 0.05), with no evidence of rancidity, bitterness, or off-flavor development, even at the highest inclusion level. These results demonstrate that unblanched high-oleic peanuts can be incorporated into poultry diets at 10-15 % to enhance spent layer meat composition and maintain sensory quality, offering a sustainable, value-added strategy for improving the marketability of spent laying hens.

Coccidiosis impairs broiler performance and meat quality, whereas dietary corn source may influence responses to enteric challenges. Therefore, this study evaluated the effects of corn type (yellow corn, YC; orange corn, OC) and coccidiosis challenge (challenged, C+; non-challenged, C-) on broiler (Cobb 500) meat quality. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial RCBD, with eight replicate pens per treatment and 15 birds per pen. The pen was the experimental unit. Breast meat was evaluated for yield, pH, instrumental color, woody breast severity, texture, water-holding capacity, lipid oxidation, and composition. Data were analyzed using PROC GLM in SAS 9.4, with a house section included as a blocking factor. Corn type × challenge interactions were observed for live, chilled, and whole breast weights at 2 h, with YC/C+ showing the lowest values, whereas OC/C+ maintained weights comparable to non-challenged treatments. OC/C+ increased yellowness and had the greatest woody breast incidence, while YC/C+ had the lowest severity. Coccidiosis increased thaw loss and reduced fat content, whereas cook loss, lipid oxidation, and most compositional traits were unaffected. Overall, OC/C+ had greater yield than YC/C+ under challenge but was also associated with greater woody breast severity, indicating an association rather than a causal trade-off.

Peanut (PN) skins are a peanut processing by-product, yet they offer substantial nutritional value that can enhance animal diets. This study investigated the effects of incorporating 5% ground PN skin in the diet of broilers to assess whether PN skin supplementation would impact broiler meat quality metrics, potentially offering an alternative dietary supplement for broiler production. Ninety broilers were assigned to either a control diet or a PN skin-supplemented diet (5% w/w), with both diets matched for energy and protein content across 3 feeding phases. After 6 weeks, 15 birds per treatment group were evaluated for body weight, carcass traits, breast meat pH (measured at 15 min, 2 hr, 24 hr, and 2.5 mo postmortem), color, texture, thaw loss, cook loss, composition, and incidence of myopathies. Results showed that broilers receiving the PN skin diet had lower live body weight, carcass weight, and breast weight compared to controls (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in meat pH at 15 min and 24 hr, color at 24 hr and 2.5 mo, texture, composition, lipid oxidation (after 7 mo of storage), sarcomere length (after 7 mo), or myopathy scores (P > 0.05). However, pH was lower in the PN skin group at 2 hr and 2.5 mo postmortem (P < 0.05). Quantitative descriptive analysis indicated no effects of 5% PN skin on overall sensory attributes (P > 0.05), with reduced springiness and no evidence of rancidity, bitterness, or off-flavor development. Notably, the PN skin group exhibited reduced cook loss and thaw loss (P < 0.05), indicating greater water-holding capacity. In conclusion, 5% PN skin dietary inclusion slightly reduced growth performance but did not adversely affect key meat quality traits. These findings support the potential use of PN skins as a sustainable poultry feed additive.