PSI-8 Impact of protein or chloride source on Boer goat carcass characteristics

Abstract

Abstract With a growing goat population in the United States comes a greater emphasis on understanding the role of inexpensive or alternative ingredients in goat diets. However limited data is available on how these ingredients impact goat carcass composition. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the impact of protein or chloride source on Boer goat carcass characteristics. Growing goats were fed 1 of 5 isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets for 42 d prior to slaughter in a completely randomized design. Diets included the following as their protein and primary chloride source: 1) soybean meal (SBM) with ammonium chloride (AmCl); 2) dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) with AmCl; 3) SoyPlus (Dairy Nutrition Plus, Ames, IA) with AmCl; 4) SBM with SoyChlor (Dairy Nutrition Plus, Ames, IA); and 5) SoyPlus with SoyChlor. Fifty goats (10 per treatment) were slaughtered in a USDA-inspected facility (Paradise Locker Meats, Trimble, MO), with carcass data collected initially (HCW) or after a 24-h chill. Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure on SAS, with goat as the experimental unit. Differences in final body weight were not detected among dietary treatments (P = 0.284), nor were there differences in hot carcass weight or carcass yield (P > 0.05). Goats fed diets with SBM, regardless of chloride source, had greater (P < 0.05) loin eye area than those fed diets with SoyPlus and SoyChlor. There was no detected impact (P > 0.05) of dietary treatment on goat backfat depth or body wall thickness. In summary, the ingredients tested had limited impact on yield or fat proportion in goats when calorie and crude protein levels were held constant. However, goats fed SBM-based diets had greater loin eye area than those fed SoyPlus and SoyChlor.