Abstract
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of age and breed of cattle on carcass and meat characteristics in Ethiopia. A total of 39 (Arsi 11, Boran 14 and Harar 14) cattle breeds with age categories of <3, 4 - 6, and 7 - 9 years were used for the study. The bulls were purchased from their respective production system of mixed crop livestock system (Arsi and Harar) and Ranch (Boran). Parameters such as live and carcass weight, meat yield percent, fat characteristics, and primal beef cuts were evaluated. Complete randomized design was used for the study. The live weight of bulls at <3, 4 - 6 and 7 - 9 years ranged 135 - 183, 167 - 181, and 155 - 433 kg, respectively. The carcass weight, dressing percentage, meat yield percent, forequarter, hindquarter, rib eye area, and fat thickness ranged 57 - 209.73 kg, 41.8% - 51.6%, 32% - 58%, 11.7 - 56.42 kg, 14.04 - 45.34 kg, 4.78 - 10.25 square inches and 0.18 - 0.38 inches, respectively. At an early age category (<3 years) meat yield percentage of Arsi, Boran and Harar breeds were 50.86, 30 and 18.72, respectively, and as age category shifted from one age category to the next Harar increased by 13× and Boran by 2.9× and Arsi decreased by -0.93×. The mean rib percentage of Arsi, Boran and Harar were in the range of 7.98 - 9.57, 8.62 - 10.44 and 7.08 - 8.83, respectively. Breed and age of bulls had significantly affected primal meat cuts. Meat yield was predicted from live and hot carcass weight with coefficient determination (R2) of 70.66% and 74.75%, respectively. From the study, it was concluded that age and breeds of cattle had significantly influence on carcass and meat characteristics. Therefore, to determine whether variations were due to genetic or environmental cause’s evaluation of the three breeds under similar feeding condition was recommended.
Highlights
Ethiopia has the largest livestock population in Africa and possesses 60.39 million heads of cattle, 31.30 million sheep, 32.74 million goats, and 60.04 million poultry [1]
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of age and breed of cattle on carcass and meat characteristics in Ethiopia
At an early age category (
Summary
Ethiopia has the largest livestock population in Africa and possesses 60.39 million heads of cattle, 31.30 million sheep, 32.74 million goats, and 60.04 million poultry [1]. The country is not fully exploiting this large resource and productivity of the animal is low and products being produced are of low quality [3] [4]. Cattle production is one of the main animal’s agriculture in Ethiopia [5]. In Ethiopia, there were 25 indigenous cattle breeds were identified [6] [7]. These breed contrasts were credited to differences in carcass weight and/or fatness [8] [9]. Age of an animal a significant factor in deciding the delicacy and adequacy of meat [10]
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