A Comparative Studt on Growth, Carcass Traits and Body Composition of Awassi and Karadi Lambs Raised Under Two Levels of Feeding and Slaughtered at Different Weights: 2- Body Composition and Carcass Tissue Distribution

Abstract

A total of 32 weaned (3.5-4 months) of Awassi (16) and Karadi (16) lambs were randomly allocated into two equal groups to be fed either ad libitum or 3% of their body weight concentrate, and to be slaughtered at 36 and 44 kg body weight. After chilling at 40c for 24h, the carcass was split along the vertebral column into two halves by electric saw, and the left side was separated into eight whole sale cuts and were physically dissected into lean, fat and bone and weighed. Results reveal that the overall mean of lean, fat, bone, lean: fat and lean: bone ratio were 60.31±0.25%, 17.05± 0.69%, 22.63 ± 0.59%, 3.78 ±0.20 and 2.71 ± 0.06, respectively. It was noticed that Karadi lambs surpass significantly (P<0.01) Awassi lambs in the content of lean (61.32±0.29 vs. 59.30±0.21%) and bone (24.72±0.85 vs. 20.53±0.35%) and had lower content of fat (13.94±0.75 vs. 20.15±0.39%). Neither lambs fed ad libitum nor 3% concentrate had a significant effect on composition of the carcasses. Lambs slaughtered at 44 kg had significantly (P<0.01) higher content of fat and lower bone content. Awassi lambs and those slaughtered at 44 kg had significantly (P<0.01) higher total body fat than did Karadi lambs and those slaughtered at 36 kg.

The Impact of Docking Karadi Lambs on Growth Performance, Carcass Traits and Body Composition

“…From the results given in Table ( 6), it appears that lambs slaughtered at 20kg had significantly (P<0.01) higher lean: fat ratio (6.926±0.575) as compared with lambs slaughtered at 30kg (4.232±0.467) and 40kg (3.034±0.317), while lean: bone ratio increased numerically by increasing slaughter weight from 20 to 30kg and 20 to 40kg, and the difference was not significant. Previous workers also reported decreasing carcass lean: fat ratio (30,55) and increasing lean: bone ratios (11,20,47), with increasing weight at slaughter.…”

Influence of Sex on Growth Performance, Carcass Attributes, Meat Quality, and Blood Metabolites of Awassi Lambs

“…The effect of sex on blood metabolites levels of Awassi lambs is detailed in Table (6). The two sex groups exhibited similarity in all serum metabolites, e.g.…”

“…Genetic, environmental, and physiological factors can influence sheep carcasses and meat quality characteristics (4,22,29,39,49). Moreover, carcass tissue maturation and distribution are essential for meat production and assessing carcass quality (6). Meat quality attributes include palatability (tenderness, juiciness, and flavor), water-holding capacity (WHC), color, and nutritional value, and they can be affected by genetics, production, and processing factors (20).…”