Abstract
Growth rate assessment is an important husbandry practice often carried out in livestock breeding and fattening. Meat production is the most important trait in the breeding objectives of sheep production. Useful information on the suitability of the animals for meat production could be evaluated on a morphological basis. The aim of this study was to investigate breed differences in liveweight, carcass traits and muscle distribution for meat characteristics among Balami (BA), Uda (UD), Yankasa (YK) and West African Dwarf rams (WAD). A total of forty-eight rams were randomly assigned into four groups of twelve rams per breed in a completely randomized design. Body linear measurements were obtained weekly during the fattening period. At the end of the feeding trial, animals were subjected to an 18-hours fast and slaughtered for carcass measurements and muscle distribution. Results showed that BA and UD had higher values for body length (115.75±4.25 and110.25±1.89cm), withers height (70.50±5.57and69.00±2.16cm) and heartgirth (92.00±2.94and84.00±1.41cm), than YK (96.50±3.87, 60.75±3.30 and 76.75±0.96cm), respectively which in turn had higher values than WAD (86.50±5.20, 53.25±5.32 and 75.25±3.30cm). Carcass length, pistol length, and leg length were75.75±4.79,60.75±7.14 and 88.00±2.16; 75.50±4.66, 56.00±5.00 and 80.25±5.80; 59.00±7.79, 56.00±10.62 and 71.50±2.65; 60.50±3.11, 53.75±5.91 and 61.00±2.94cm for BA, UD, YK and WAD rams, respectively. BA and UD had higher proportion of muscle distribution and were generally better than the YK and WAD breeds. This may boost their potential for large scale meat production under fattening conditions.
Highlights
Nigeria's livestock industry is small and slow-growing relative to the population relying on it for meat [1]
There were statistical variations (P
The effect of slaughter weight on carcass measurements indicated that all carcass measurements increased (P
Summary
Nigeria's livestock industry is small and slow-growing relative to the population relying on it for meat [1]. Farmers need to invest in breeds that have traits for good carcass quality.The breed that can deliver good quality meat should be selected or bred for important and desirable traits. The commercial value of meat animals is determined by the carcass weight, proportion, and distribution of carcass muscle [2]. The use of specialized meat breeds to improve animal productivity and economic results is desirable in intensive sheep production. The quality of rams of local breeds is an important instrument to promote the consumption of meat in the local population [3]. Meat production can better be estimated than other production properties, making body measurements important selection criteria [5]. Muscularity indicates the amount of muscle tissue, determined by muscle to bone ratio and fatness describes the external and internal deposition of Akinleye Sule Bamidele et al.: Morphological Indices and Carcass Measurements of Indigenous
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