Evaluating broiler performance through yield, product quality, and economic value

Broiler production has been optimized for maximum biological output, particularly breast meat yield; however, the economic implications of increased yield in the presence of quality defects are often not integrated into comprehensive evaluations of performance. The objective of this study was to integrate processing yield, myopathy incidence, and economic weighting into an expected value (EV) framework to evaluate broiler performance based on retained value rather than total output. A total of 768 broilers from two populations were evaluated across two production cycles. Carcass yield, parts yields, and the incidence of breast myopathies were assessed, and relationships among variables were explored using correlation and regression analyses. Expected value modeling was applied by combining predicted breast yield with woody breast (WB) severity distributions and value-based weighting factors. Population A had greater breast yield than population B (30.9 vs. 29.9 %; p = 0.001) and a stronger relationship between breast wt and carcass wt (R² = 0.97 vs. 0.28), but also greater incidence of moderate and severe WB. Consequently, value-adjusted breast mass was maximized at a chilled carcass wt of approximately 3.50 kg for population A (0.64 kg) and 3.05 kg for population B (0.89 kg). These findings indicate that increased biological output does not necessarily correspond to increased value-adjusted output when product quality is considered. Integrating biological performance and product quality within an economic framework provides a more comprehensive evaluation of broiler production and supports value-based decision-making.