Comparison of nutritional values of pheasant and broiler chicken meats

The aim of this study was to compare the nutritional and dietetic values of the meat of chickens of the common pheasant intensively fattened until 90 days of age with the meat of broiler chickens fattened until 40 days of age. Breast muscles in pheasants contained higher protein concentration on a dry matter basis (930.57 g/kg in females, 937.23 g/kg in males) and lower fat concentration (29.58 g/kg in females, 29.92 g/kg in males) as compared to thigh muscles (protein conc.: 781.80 g/kg in females, 810.07 g/kg in males, fat conc.: 163.74 g/kg in females, 140.71 g/kg in males). Breast muscles in both females and males contained less calcium (0.67 g/kg in females, 0.57 g/kg in males) and more phosphorus (10.16 g/kg in females, 9.72 g/kg in males) compared to the thigh muscles in which the mean Ca conc. was 1.28 g/kg in females and 1.32 g/kg in males, and the mean P conc. was 9.31 g/kg in females and 9.23 g/kg in males. Breast and thigh muscles in both female and male pheasants contained higher protein conc. and lower fat conc. than broiler meat. Ca conc. in pheasant meat was lower, whereas P and Mg levels were higher in comparison with broiler meat. Pheasant meat with high protein conc. and low fat conc. is a valuable food as its dietetic value exceeds that of broiler meat.