The effect of age of Pharaoh quails on dressing percentage, carcass composition, and sensory and physicochemical properties of their meat was determined. Compared to 42-day-old birds, Pharaoh quail aged 33 days had lower body weight (169.1 vs 139.4 g), carcass weight (111.7 vs 88.8 g) and dressing percentage (66.1 vs 63.7%). The carcasses of 42-day-old birds contained more breast muscles (30.9%), leg muscles (18.3%), skin with subcutaneous fat (6.5%) and remainders of the carcass (31.0%) compared to birds at 33 days of age (30.8; 16.7; 6.2 and 30.0%, respectively). Older birds showed higher values of pH15, redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) and lower values of sensory meat properties except aroma intensity.
