&lt;b&gt;Concentrate levels of crossbred bulls slaughtered at 16 or 22 months: performance and carcass characteristics

Adriana Pinto,Daniel Perotto,Dayane Cristina Rivaroli,Rodrigo Augusto Cortêz Passetti,Ivanor Nunes Do Prado,Ana Guerrero

doi:10.4025/actascianimsci.v37i2.25116

Abstract

This study was performed to assess the animal performance of 97 bulls, ½ Puruna vs. ½ Canchim, that were slaughtered at 16 (16M) or 22 (22M) months with three concentrate levels (0.8, 1.2, and 1.6%) of body weight (BW). The initial body weight was lower for the 16M bulls. The final body weight and hot carcass weights were similar between the two slaughter ages. The hot carcass dressing was higher for 22M bulls. The average daily gain was higher for 16M bulls. The feed intake and dry matter feed conversion were similar between 16 and 22M bulls. The carcass length, marbling, and bone percentage were lower for 16M bulls. However, the Longissimus dorsi muscle area was higher for 16M bulls. The leg length, cushion thickness, fat thickness, conformation, colour, texture, muscle percent, and fat percent were similar between 16 and 22M bulls. The final and hot carcass weights were lower for bulls that were fed with 0.8% of BW. The carcass dressing was similar for the three concentrate levels. The average daily gain was higher for bulls that were fed with 1.6% of BW of concentrate and lower for those that were fed with 0.8%. The concentrate levels had no effect on carcass characteristics, feed intake, and dry matter conversion.

Highlights

The Brazilian beef herd is essentially composed of Bos taurus indicus – zebu (ANUALPEC, 2014),which are slaughtered at an advanced age between three and four years; they have a lower quality meat than Bos taurus taurus animals and their crossbreeds
No interaction was found for initial body weight (IBW), final body weight (FBW), average daily gain (ADG), hot carcass weight (HCW), and hot carcass dressing (HCD) between the slaughter age (16M and 22M) and concentrate levels in the diets (0.8, 1.2, and 1.6% of body weight (BW), Table 1)
The 16M bulls presented with a lower IBW when compared to the 22M bulls

Summary

Introduction

The Brazilian beef herd is essentially composed of Bos taurus indicus – zebu (ANUALPEC, 2014),which are slaughtered at an advanced age between three and four years; they have a lower quality meat than Bos taurus taurus animals and their crossbreeds The lower meat quality is directly related to the slaughter age and the zebu genes, which have high levels of calpains, thereby resulting in a firmer meat (O’Connor et al, 1997; Shackelford et al, 1994). The productive index of Brazilian beef livestock must be improved to reduce the slaughter age and to attain improvements in carcass quality It is possible to slaughter animals between 14 to 18 months old and to obtain standardized carcasses of high quality (Ito et al, 2010; Ito et al, 2012a, b)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion