Impact of Diet Supplementation and Age at Slaughter on Carcass Characteristics of Creole Goats

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of diet and age on finishing performances and carcass characteristics of male Creole goats. A total of 91 weaned male Creole kids [84 days old ± 7 days, 9.2 kg live weight (LW) ± 0.5 kg] were randomly allocated in a 2 × 3 experimental design. The animals were fed individually with two diets: C0: a 28-day-old Digitaria decubens grass alone, or C50: the same grass plus a commercial concentrate (50% of the total diet) and then slaughtered at 7, 11, or 15 months of age. Significant feeding regimen and age at slaughter effects were observed on the goat carcass characteristics. The addition of concentrate improved the average daily gain (ADG), the dressing percentage, and the conformation score (1–5 scale) from 46 to 88 g/day, 52.8 to 62.4%, and 2.2 to 4.9, respectively. Moreover, carcasses of the C0 group appeared lean with less developed fat than the C50 group and lighter than visceral fat. The meat color was significantly more affected by diet than age. Our data suggested that the production of heavy carcasses with low proportions of fat in the meat is possible in this local breed. The valorization of such a forage feeding system until 11 months of age or with the addition of concentrate from 7 to 11 months of age should be evaluated economically.

Effect of Feeding Level on Growth and Slaughter Performance, and Allometric Growth of Tissues and Organs in Female Growing Saanen Dairy Goats

“…In this study, it was found that the important tissues and organs such as muscle, visceral fat, and most of the internal organs, especially the mammary gland of dairy goats, grow faster than the body. It has been reported the fat deposition characteristics of shelter-feeding goats differ from those of grazing, with shelter-feeding goats depositing more visceral fat [ 30 , 48 ], which was due to the higher DMI and energy intake [ 30 ]. The growth exponent or slope (b-value) was greater at the 10–20 kg stage than at the 20–30 kg stage, mainly in muscle, skin and mohair, heart, spleen, lung, mammary gland, and abomasum.…”

Performance, carcass characteristics and non-carcass components of Santa Ines and crossbred (Santa Ines x Dorper) lambs finished in different confinement strategies

“…decreases and the proportion of fat increases as body weight increases, as well as the biochemical composition of the tissues also changes, with the gain of lipids in the muscle and the loss of water, also with the advancement of maturity [14,44]. Thus, the increase in fat deposition, with the time spent in confinement, influenced the M:F ratio, which suffered a decreasing effect, as the lambs increased their weight, demonstrating that the greater the age at slaughter, the greater the weight, adiposity and carcass conformation [45,46], with weight and age at slaughter being fundamental factors that determine meat quality and make it possible to increase the adoption of strategies during decision-making that encourage the production of sheep meat and the choice of the best slaughter period according to the current needs of the Brazilian industry [38,47].…”

Effect of different levels of concentrate supplementation on feed intake, growth performance, carcass traits and composition in finisher Barbari kids reared under intensive system

“…Onfarm supplementation of concentrate pellets at 1.5% of the live weight of growing kids improved growth performance, carcass traits, and provided leaner carcass (Chaudhary et al 2015). Higher level of concentrate feeding to goats increased overall carcass yields, dressing percentage, crude protein, and fat contents in meat (Kim et al 2014, Bambou et al 2021; also affected carcass traits, serum biochemical indexes, and fatty acid profiles in different muscles of female Hu lambs fed with high energy (Wang et al 2020).…”