ASSESSMENT OF SLAUGHTER VALUE AND QUALITY OF MEAT IN COMMON 'GAME' PHEASANTS (PHASIANUS COLCHICUS)

The objective of the paper was to assess the slaughter value and quality of muscular tissue in pheasants reared in an aviary system. At the age of 20 weeks, the average weight of hens was 813 g and of cocks 1039 g. Compared to females, the males were characterized by a significantly higher slaughter value (71.8 and 68.9 %, respectively) and a significantly higher weight of eviscerated carcass (735.7 and 550.4 g, respectively). Irrespective of their gender, the birds showed a similar breast musculature (27.5 and 27.7 %, respectively) and leg musculature (19.3 and 19.1%, respectively); however, the fatness of carcasses (6.6%) was a little lower in cocks than that in hens (7.8%). Compared to the leg muscles, the breast muscles contained more dry matter (27.23 and 26.31 %, respectively), including total protein (25.09 and 23.30 %) and, at the same time, their fat was twofold lower (0.84 and 1.76 %). The intramuscular fat was characterized by a valuable fatty acid profile regardless of the muscle type. The breast muscles contained 30.59 % of SFA and 69.18 % of UFA, whereas the leg muscles: 29.78 and 69.76 %, respectively.