This study assessed the effects of outdoor access, which is required to produce “Label Rouge” slow-growing chickens, compared to indoor rearing, which is used in genetic selection for health reasons. Chickens were reared either indoors or with outdoor access after 28 d of age for 2 consecutive summers (2022 and 2023), a season when farmers often observe lower performance. Approximately 300 chickens per group were monitored individually each year. The chickens reared with outdoor access gained 4% less weight than those reared indoors but had similar feed intake; thus, they used their feed less efficiently. Outdoor access decreased abdominal fat, particularly in females, and had no effect on thigh or breast yield, but it did decrease the quality of meat, which had lower pH, a paler color, and more water loss. Interactions between housing condition, sex and year indicated that chicken performance and meat quality in free-range systems remained sensitive to environmental challenges, which emphasizes the importance of considering genotype × environment interactions in breeding programs for chicken strains intended to have outdoor access.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.