Effects of dietary supplementation of chitosan on carcass composition and meat quality in growing Huoyan geese

Abstract This present study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of chitosan (CS) on carcass composition and meat quality in growing Huoyan geese. A total of three hundred and twenty (28-day-old) growing Huoyan geese (sex balance) with similar body weight were randomly divided into the following 4 main groups. Basal diet (control), basal diet+100 mg/kg CS (CS100), basal diet+200 mg/kg CS (CS200) and basal diet+400 mg/kg CS (CS400) groups. Each group includes 4 replicates with 20 geese per replicate, and the feeding trail lasted for 4 weeks. The results showed that the geese in CS200 group had lower abdominal fat percentage, lower b* value, shear force, crude fat (CF) content and drip loss of breast and thigh muscle compared with those in the control group (P