Effects of Housing Systems and the Diet Supplements on the Slaughter Value and Concentration of Mineral Elements in the Loin Muscle of Lambs

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of maintenance system as well as the effect of Se, Zn, and vitamin E supplementation of ram-lambs on the slaughter value and concentration of mineral elements in the loin muscle of lambs. The experiment was conducted on 72 Polish Merino ram-lambs divided into three groups: group C, indoor with no supplement, 19 lambs; S, indoor with supplement, 23 lambs; G, outdoor with no supplement, 30 lambs. From birth all the lambs were maintained indoor with their dams and then weaned at the age of 8 weeks. The rams from group C and S were placed in individual straw-bedded pens and fattened individually with concentrate mixture offered ad libitum until the age of 16 weeks. The lambs from group G were grazed every day from May to July (2 months). During the fattening period each lamb from the supplemented group S was administered per os 1 mL 0.1% Na2SeO4 (Se, 0.42 mg), 3 mL 10% ZnSO4 (Zn, 68 mg), and 1 mL premix protect vitamin E (0.1 g α-tocopherol, 5 mg lysine, 5 mg methionine) daily. A comparison of half carcasses across the groups has shown no difference between the control group and the one with supplements, while the weight of half carcasses in the grazing group was smaller in comparison with groups C and S (p<0.001). The meat content in the pelvic limb showed no differences across all groups under study. The pelvic limb of grazing lambs contained less fat compared to the control and supplemented groups (p<0.001). The concentrations of Se and Zn in the blood plasma of ram-lambs from the supplemented group were significantly higher than for the control and grazing lambs. Inorganic Se and Zn supplementation with vitamin E to the diet of lambs increased Se and Zn levels in loin muscle (p<0.001) to 0.46 μg/g and 32.9 μg/g in fresh tissue, respectively.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Identifying the Different Molecular Genetic Markers Related to Production Performance and Meat Quality in Longissimus Dorsi Tissues of MG × STH and STH Sheep

“…Electronic scales and tapelines were used to measure the slaughter performance metrics after 6 months of age, including body weight, body size, and carcass yield. Carcass percentage, dressing percentage, net meat percentage, and loin eye area were recorded in accordance with previously reported studies [17,18]. The meat quality was evaluated by shear force, pH, color chroma, and the muscle marbling grade of the longissimus dorsi tissue, in accordance with previously reported studies [2,19].…”

The effect of two housing systems on productive performance of hair-type crossbreed lambs in sub-humid tropics of Mexico

“…Some studies on grazing lambs (Dixit et al 2001;Benyi et al 2006) in semi-intensive systems (González et al 2002) have found that lambs fattened in seasons which high ambient temperatures showed reduced feed intake, compared to other seasons. The differences between feeding lambs at the indoor system (with concentrate) and grazing lambs suggest that the diet composition has a greater influence on lamb performance than the environmental conditions do (Gabryszuk et al 2014), however, in the present study, lambs received the same diet (concentrate and pasture). In temperate regions especially in winter ewes prefer pens with straw bedding than wooden slats (Gordon & Cockram, 1995).…”

Exploring effects of different male parent crossings on sheep muscles and related regulatory genes using mRNA-Seq

“…An electronic scale and a tape measure were used to measure the slaughter performance indicators at 6 months of age, including body weight, body size, and carcass output. We referred to previous studies [ 15 , 16 ] to determine the carcass percentage, slaughter percentage, net meat percentage, and eye muscle area. The quality of the meat was evaluated by shear force, pH, color, and muscle marbling of the longissimus dorsi tissue [ 17 ].…”