A note on meat quality traits of pheasants (Phasianus colchicus)

Meat yield, proximate composition, pH and drip loss of breast and thigh muscles were studied in 29 hunted male and 32 slaughtered female pheasants. In the breast muscles of additional 14 hunted male pheasants, colour, cooking loss and shear force were measured. Weight of muscles of hunted male pheasants was higher than that of slaughtered females, but the percentages of breast and thigh muscles relative to the dressed carcass did not differ. Average protein concentrations in lean muscles were above 22%, and average fat was below 1.2%. In breast muscles, pH(24) was lower than in thigh (ca. 5.6 vs. 6.0), and, consequently, drip loss was higher (2.2-3.0% vs. 1.0-1.5%). Colour of breast muscles was characterised by L*a*b* values of about 55, 4 and 8-9, respectively. The shear force of breast muscles was about 30 N/cm(2).