The experiment, reported in Frontiers in Animal Science, used 192 Fijian native chickens and 192 first-generation native-by-broiler crossbreds. It began when the birds entered their production treatments at five weeks of age and ended after eight weeks, when all were slaughtered. Half of each genotype was maintained in conventional indoor cages, while the other half occupied outdoor free-range pens measuring 30 by 30 meters. Water was available throughout. During the outdoor period, cages were opened during the day so birds could forage among Para grass, crop residues, coconut waste, soil, insects and other available material; the birds were enclosed at night.

Within each production system, the researchers assigned male and female birds to one of two supplementary feeding regimens. One group received equal weights of whole sorghum and ground kitchen waste, while the other received a commercial broiler grower diet. Scavenging pens receiving sorghum and kitchen waste were supplied with 500 grams of the mixture daily, equivalent to 62.5 grams of sorghum per bird. Indoor birds on that regimen received the mixture ad libitum, as did birds assigned to the commercial diet. Because the nutritional intake of scavengers cannot be determined from supplements alone, the investigators also analyzed material from the crop and gizzard to characterize the feeds the birds actually consumed.

The chemical composition of those gut contents showed why the two feeding strategies may have different consequences indoors and outdoors. Native chickens receiving sorghum and kitchen waste had the highest energy concentration, but birds on the sorghum-and-waste regimen had lower calcium and zinc concentrations than those fed the commercial grower diet. Crossbreds on sorghum and kitchen waste also had less phosphorus, and native birds on that diet had less copper, than birds in the other combinations. The authors cautioned that these results reflect estimated diets under the experimental conditions rather than a controlled nutrient formulation, and the sorghum-to-kitchen-waste ratio was chosen as a practical representation of mixed scavenging feeds rather than as a nutritionally optimized blend.

Carcass outcomes depended on genotype, system and diet in different ways. Native chickens and crossbreds had the same dressing percentage outdoors, but native birds had a higher percentage indoors. Chickens receiving the commercial grower feed also had a higher dressing percentage indoors than those receiving sorghum and kitchen waste, while no such difference was detected outdoors. The pattern suggested that scavengers obtained additional nutrients that compensated for differences between the supplements. It did not support the use of sorghum and kitchen waste as the sole feed for enclosed birds, where the commercial diet produced better dressed carcasses and the authors attributed the difference to its more balanced nutrient composition rather than to any single ingredient.

Outdoor birds had heavier carcasses, wings, thighs and drumsticks than their indoor counterparts, regardless of supplementary diet. Males also had heavier carcasses and cuts than females. Genotype did not affect dressing percentage outdoors, but native birds produced heavier carcasses and individual cuts than crossbreds under scavenging conditions. That last result ran against the expectation that faster-growing crossbreds would match or exceed pure native chickens outdoors. The authors proposed that native birds may have exploited the local feed base more effectively, although they described this as an inference requiring further study rather than a demonstrated mechanism.

Breast-muscle pH, a central indicator of meat quality, also varied with management. Native chickens housed indoors had a higher ultimate pH than crossbreds, and indoor birds receiving sorghum and kitchen waste had a higher pH than those receiving commercial feed. No corresponding genotype or feeding differences were detected outdoors. All measured breast muscles fell within a pH range of 5.60 to 5.68, close to the cited normal range of 5.7 to 6.1. The authors associated higher pH with depletion of muscle glycogen, a process that can be linked to stress and may contribute to dark, firm, dry meat and shorter storage life. The findings provide a plausible explanation for the indoor advantage of crossbreds but do not directly prove that stress caused the observed differences.

Nutrient composition shifted substantially between systems. Meat from outdoor birds contained more iron: mean concentrations ranged from 4.64 to 5.56 milligrams per kilogram of dry matter, compared with 1.86 to 2.15 milligrams per kilogram indoors. Calcium was higher in meat from birds receiving commercial feed indoors, but no feed difference was detected outdoors. Energy followed the opposite pattern across environments: meat from commercial-fed indoor birds contained more energy than meat from indoor birds receiving sorghum and kitchen waste, whereas the sorghum-and-waste group had higher energy outdoors. These interactions mean that the effect of a feeding regimen cannot be separated from the production system in which it is used.

Crossbreds consistently had more fat in their breast meat than native chickens, both indoors and outdoors. Under scavenging conditions, the crossbreds also had more calcium and iron than native birds, whereas the reverse was observed for calcium indoors. Magnesium, sodium and zinc did not differ significantly between genotypes outdoors, and the two genotypes had similar meat moisture content in that system. The authors suggested that these similarities could reflect comparable use of scavenging resources, but they called for direct sensory testing to determine whether the chemical results translate into differences or similarities in toughness, juiciness and eating quality. The experiment therefore established measured chemical and carcass outcomes, not consumer preferences or health effects.

Sex interacted with the production system as well. Females had more moisture in indoor breast meat, while males had higher energy and calcium under that system. Outdoors, females had higher energy, calcium, sodium and copper than males, and no moisture difference was detected. The authors suggested that the reversal might reflect physiological differences in feed-conversion efficiency or in the ability of males and females to use scavenging resources, but they acknowledged the limited scientific evidence for those interpretations. Taken together, the results support the narrower conclusion that native-by-broiler crosses can match or surpass native chickens on several meat-quality measures outdoors, while reduced carcass-cut weights remain a drawback. The trial was confined to one site, one eight-week production period, particular genotypes and experimental diets, so broader farm performance and consumer acceptance remain untested.

Subject of Research: Comparative carcass traits and breast-meat quality of Fijian native chickens and broiler crosses under indoor and scavenging systems

Article Title: Carcass characteristics and meat quality of Fijian native chickens and their crosses with broilers under different production systems

Article References: Berukilukilu, L. T., Bakare, A. G., Iji, P. A., & Zindove, T. J. (2026). Carcass characteristics and meat quality of Fijian native chickens and their crosses with broilers under different production systems. Frontiers in Animal Science, 7, 1919474. https://doi.org/10.3389/fanim.2026.1919474

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3389/fanim.2026.1919474

Keywords: Fijian native chickens, broiler crossbreeds, meat quality, carcass characteristics, scavenging systems, poultry nutrition, breast muscle, sorghum, kitchen waste, animal agriculture, Carcass, characteristics