Keywords: Chick raising, intensive/scavenging system, meat quality

study was conducted to compare meat quality of the chicks and adoption pattern (behavior) between surrogate mother and offspring raised under scavenging and intensive system during April-August 2003 at IAAS Livestock Farm, Chitwan, Nepal. For the scavenging management system, four adult local hens (Sakani) known for better broody characteristics and two female adult Muscovy ducks were purchased from the local villages, and ninety-day-old Cobb-100 commercial chicks from a hatchery. Then 4 hens were provided with 10 commercial chicks each at the 21^st day of her brooding stage; similarly, two female ducks were provided with 10 commercial chickens each at the 28^th day of their brooding stage. The dams (4 hens and 2 female ducks) were offered day old commercial chicks (10 each) to remain as their progeny and then allowed to be as family. Their behavioral pattern of adoption was studied from beginning to 12^th week. The meat quality was analyzed through orgnoleptic test. It was found that the meat quality of broiler raised under scavenging system was superior in terms of taste, juiciness, tenderness, flavor and general appearance. This was due to free consumption of natural food and free movement that reduced abdominal fat deposition and unwanted fowl smell accumulation. However, the average weight of dressed meat of chicks under intensive regime was higher than scavenging regime. Similarly, dressing percent of meat under intensive was also higher. Regarding behavioral study under scavenging regime, both hen and chicks showed positive response towards each other. Although the duck were reluctant to accept the chicks initially, both surrogate hen and duck started to respond positively towards chicks later on. The chicks also responded positively to their surrogate mothers indicating that the hen responded better than ducks for rearing chicks as surrogate mother. The chicks reared under scavenging (both hen and duck) were appeared to be remarkably profitable in terms of net benefit than the chicks reared under intensive. It was concluded that this practice would be viable especially in rural areas to rural poor, where there is no electricity for brooding and where there is no feed supply system.