Nutrient Composition of Whole Chicken Carcass

Source: Ellen S. Dierenfeld, New York Zooligical Society, Bronx, New York, 1993

These are the results of two samples. Worth to mention is, that the values for taurine, iron and zinc varied considerably in these two samples and one might conclude, that feeding whole chickens to felids as a staple food may induce deficiencies and excesses alike, or with other words, whole chickens alone do not provide a balanced food to be given longterm. Compared to the Nutrient Requirements of Cats guidelines, taurine, magnesium,  and vitamin E may be marginal, manganese even deficient, whereas zinc and iron are well above minimum requirements. I also believe that vitamin A content is rather marginal. Furthermore, chicken is known to be notoriously low in copper and the high zinc values will exacerbate these values even more due to the close interaction of these two elements. Also, new researches have shown, that the NRC recommendation of 5mg copper/kg diet may not be sufficient for optimal reproduction^1,2, so whole chicken carcasse or chicken in general may not be a good staple food for pregnant and lactating queens. These two samples of whole chicken carcasse are certainly not all conclusive moreover, since not all nutrients have been evaluated. On the other side, it once again shows very clearly how important a varied diet is (like feeding beef/calves/lamb liver sometimes along with chicken to compensate for unfavorable copper/zinc ratio for example despite what you will read elsewhere; go to the following site to see nutrient contents of different organ meats, but also be aware that values are not static and do vary depending on how animals have been raised and fed). Using a good mineral/tracemineral supplement especially designed for cats occasionally may not be ill advised either.

 

References:

1. Fascetti AJ, Rogers QR, Morris JG. Dietary Copper Influences Reproduction in Cats. J Nutr. 2000; 130:1287-1290.
   
2. Fascetti AJ, Morris JG, Rogers QR. Dietary Copper Influences Reproductive Efficiency of Queens. J Nutr. 1998; 128:2590S-2593S

 

Carcass fatty acid composition (molar %) of various chicken lines

E. Van Marle-Köster and E.C. Webb, Department of Animal and Wildlife Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Line	14:0	16:0	16:1	18:0	18:1	18:3	20:1
Koekoek (n=160)	1.05	24.58	7.92	8.23	45.28	12.18	1.54
New Hampshire (n=160)	0.85	25.83	9.85	7.74	44.27	10.12	1.92
Naked-Neck (n=113)	1.15	25.10	8.19	7.82	42.74	12.87	2.34
Lebowa-Venda (n=120)	1.29	22.17	7.98	6.99	45.06	14.44	2.05
Ovamba (n=105)	0.92	23.71	9.23	6.07	46.68	12.72	1.33
Cobb	0.92	26.62	8.78	8.37	43.11	9.58	2.42

        Ten samples were randomly selected each from the above lines and slaugthered at the age of 77 days.
        Birds have been raised on a commercial broiler starter diet from 1-14 days of age and subsequently
a broiler finisher diet until 77 days of age. Males and females were not separated. The Cobb is a commercial
broiler line that was included for comparative purposes. The dissected carcass samples for fatty acid analysis
containted muscle, bone, fat, skin and feet. Feathers, viscera and heads have been removed.
     

Line	Dressed Carcass mass g	Muscle %	Breast muscle %	Fat %	Skin %	Bone %
Koekoek (n=160)	831.6	54.9	17.0	1.2	10.6	33.2
New Hampshire (n=160)	907.0	51.7	15.9	4.34	12.8	31.1
Naked-Neck (n=113)	795.6	54.9	18.0	1.8	11.7	31.5
Lebowa-Venda (n=120)	703.9	53.0	15.2	0.4	10.3	36.2
Ovamba (n=105)	939.8	51	15.9	2.5	12.1	33.5
Cobb	1404.7	55.2	20.4	6.5	14.2	24.1

        Ash content were indicated as 3,9%, 3,78%, 3,9%, 4,7%, 2,7%, and 2,4% respectively.

 

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