In recent years, the increasing cost of feed ingredients and the need for environmental sustainability in the poultry sector have necessitated the exploration of alternative feed sources. In this context, the production of hydroponic green fodder (HGF) is attracting attention, as it is an environmentally friendly method that minimizes water and land use. It has been reported that hydroponic fodder can positively impact production performance, welfare, and digestive health, particularly in poultry. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of HGF supplementation in the last quarter of the growing season on growth performance, carcass, and meat quality traits in the slow-growing Gerze Turkish native chicken breed. In the study, chicks were fed starter feed until 8 weeks of age, grower feed between 8 and 14 weeks, and either finisher feed alone (control group, CD) or finisher feed plus HGF (treatment group) ad libitum between 14 and 18 weeks of age. At the end of the trial, the CD group was found to have significantly higher abdominal fat weight, dry matter percentage, and protein levels than the HGF group (p < 0.05). In contrast, ash content was lower in both the pectoralis major (PM) and gastrocnemius (GN) muscles in the control group (p<0.05). In chickens who were fed HGF, drip loss and intramuscular fat content in the GN muscle on the second storage day increased significantly (p<0.05), while cooking loss in the GN muscle and freezing loss in the PM muscle decreased (p<0.05). Furthermore, the hardness and adhesiveness values ​​of the PM muscle in the CD group were higher than in the HGF group (p<0.05).
In conclusion, it was determined that the use of hydroponic green feed can improve meat quality traits in Gerze chickens without negatively affecting growth performance. These findings suggest that HGF is a potential alternative feed source in sustainable and efficient poultry farming practices.