Printing ISSN2708-857X
Online ISSN 2708-8588
Online ISSN 2708-8588
Abstract... This study was conducted to investigate the effect of rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) dried leaves supplemented diet on the characteristics of squab meat. Thirty pigeon pairs were randomly assigned to three diets: control (C: 0% rosemary) and two treatment groups (T1: 0.5% and T2: 1% rosemary), with 10 replicates per group. The study lasted from mating until the weaning of hatched squabs. At weaning age, six squabs were randomly chosen (two per group) to study meat characteristics. The rosemary tends to increase live weight and increase the dressing percentage of squab carcasses; this increase was significant with a 0.5% supplement in comparison with C group (p < 0.05%). Except for a decrease in meat to bone ratio in the 0.5% group, the rosemary supplement had no effect on the percentage of primal cuts and meat to bone ratio of these cuts (p > 0.05). Rosemary supplement led to a decrease in crop and liver relative weights, while heart weight was not affected (p < 0.05). Meat content of proteins, fat, or moisture was not affected by supplement; however, only ash content increased in meat with the increase of supplement from 0.5% to 1% of diet (p < 0.05). We conclude that rosemary supplement did not affect meat characteristics investigated in this study.