Effects of High-Grain Diet on the Quality of Meat and Carcass of Lambs and Economic Indices of Various Diets

Hélia Maria De S Leite,Salenilda S Firmino,Vitor Lucas De L Melo,Nayane V Batista,Maria Vivianne F G De Miranda,Allison F De Lima,Patrícia De O Lima,Ana Paula P De Assis,Renata N De Lima

doi:10.5539/jsd.v14n1p60

Abstract

The Brazilian sheep farming sector suffers from low productivity, related to the extensive animal production system and low availability of native fodder during most of the year. An alternative to the systems would be the use of a diet without roughage, allowing greater weight gain and better quality carcasses. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of diets containing different proportions of grains on the quality of carcass and meat of lambs as well as the economic indices of various diets. Three diets containing different proportions of concentrate and roughage (100:0, 80:20, and 60:40) were supplied. The concentrate comprised 85% whole-grain corn and 15% commercial pelletized supplement. Twenty-four male lambs (no racial pattern; average body weight, 20.9 &plusmn; 1.0 kg; age, 6 months) were randomly allotted to three collective bays for 52 days. Subsequently, the animals were slaughtered, and further analyses were performed. The diet with 100% concentrate achieved overall higher carcass yield, lower weight loss on cooking, and greater lipid oxidation. However, no diet affected weight gain, slaughter weight, carcass length and thorax depth, pH, temperature, color, water-holding capacity, and meat shear force (P &gt; 0.05). The best economic indices were obtained with the diet containing 100% concentrate. Therefore, based on the results obtained, the use of 100% concentrated diet for lambs is the most suitable practice to improve the sheep production from a productive and economic point of view.

Highlights

The northeastern region of Brazil contains 57.5% of effective sheep herds in the national territory, despite 5 consecutive years of drought
The sheep farming sector suffers from low productivity, typically related to the extensive animal production system and low availability of native fodder during most of the year, even today, this practice remains active despite the many adversities
The present study evaluated the carcass characteristics, meat quality, and production costs of lambs finished in confinement and fed high-grain diets

Summary

Introduction

The northeastern region of Brazil contains 57.5% of effective sheep herds in the national territory, despite 5 consecutive years of drought. The sheep farming sector suffers from low productivity, typically related to the extensive animal production system and low availability of native fodder during most of the year, even today, this practice remains active despite the many adversities. Regardless of these challenges, the breeders’ ability to adapt to a new productive reality is reflected in the increase in herd volume in recent years (Embrapa, 2016). Recent devaluation of the Brazilian currency may endow national products (milk, meat, skin, and wool) with better competitiveness abroad, providing better remuneration to producers who trade in higher currency. There remain challenges to be overcome, including maintenance of the quality of meat and standardization of the exportable products (Embrapa, 2016)

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Conclusion