Changes in carcass and meat quality of male crossbred kids pre-weaning stage fed different sources of raw milk, cow milk replacers and soybean milk

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of feeding raw milk from goat, cattle, buffalo, commercial cow milk replacers and 50% soybean milk + 50% goat milk on carcass and meat quality of male crossbred kids. The male crossbred kids were randomly allotted into five treatments with each treatment group consisting of six replicates. The five dietary treatments were as follows: T1- Goat Milk, T2 - Cow Milk, T3 - Buffalo Milk, T4 - Milk Replacer and T5 – 50% Soybean Milk + 50% Goat Milk. Dietary treatments were imposed on Day 5 and weaned on Day 60. After weaning, male crossbred kids were fed conventional diet of 20% concentrate, and 80% Para grass (Brachiaria mutica). Two male crossbred kids per treatment were sacrificed for carcass and meat quality analysis. Prior to slaughter, the animals were fasted overnight. Standard slaughtering procedures of goats were followed. Results reveal differences in carcass dressing percentage of kids at pre-weaning stage were probably due to the differences in body weight. Dressing percentage increases as the animal advances in age and maturity. No significant differences were observed on the fore and hind quarter carcass yield. Furthermore, the results of the study showed differences on chemical quality of meat. Those differences were on water content, crude fat and ash. Results indicate that providing milk replacer as an alternative to goat milk in kid rearing increases the marketable milk yield and farm profitability without any negative effects on kids’ growth and performance.