Carcass Characteristics Of Sheep Research Articles

Corncob biochar supplementation improves nutrient digestibility, fattening performance and carcass characteristics of fattening sheep.

Corncob is a cheap source for biochar in developing countries. No studies reported on use of biochar as sheep fattening supplement. The goal of this study is to determine the effect of corncob biochar supplementation on growth performance and carcass characteristics of sheep. Twenty-four Horro yearling rams (18.6±0.938kg live weight) were randomly distributed to four groups, control (300g/day concentrate+local hay ad libitum), BC1.5 (control +1.5g/day biochar), BC3 (control +3g/day biochar) and BC4.5 (control +4.5/day biochar). The experimental concentrate consisted of 200g/day wheat bran and 100g/day Noug cake. The study consisted of a growth trial of 111 days followed by a digestibility trial of 10 days. Carcass characteristics for all rams were recorded at the end of the trial. Dry matter intake, crude protein intake, dry matter digestibility and acid detergent fibre digestibility of BC1.5 were significantly higher than the control. Corncob biochar supplementation significantly improved daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio of the rams. Supplementation sheep with corncob biochar improved significantly dressing percentage, hindquarters weight, forequarters weight, ribs weight, brisket weigh and rib eye muscle area. There was a significant effect of the dietary treatment on weight of internal organs; however, they were all within the normal range of sheep. Corncob biochar supplementation would be recommended at a level of 1.5g/day to improve growth performance and carcass characteristics of sheep.

Supplementation of Mulberry (Morus indica) and Vernonia (V. amygdalina) leaves as protein source on morphometric measurement, weight change, and carcass characteristics of sheep

Back groundProtein source supplement such as noug seed cake (NSC) has a greater cost. To overcome the problems associated with the shortage of protein source supplements, there is a need to look for options of protein source feeds preferably cheap, locally available, and easily accessible by farmers. In this regard, browse tree species such as mulberry (Morus indica) and Vernonia amygdalina represents a valuable option to overcome such problem.MethodsWe evaluated the feed intake, morphometric measurements, weight change, and carcass parameters of 25 male sheep, with initially weighed 20.8 ± 1.7 kg, supplemented for 90 days of experimental period. The treatments (diets) were the replacement of the protein in the NSC with iso-nitrogenous at (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%) of mulberry and Vernonia mixed leaves meal. The sheep were given a basal diet of Rhodes grass hay, supplemented with 400.0 (D1), 429.8 (D2), 459.5 (D3), 489.3 (D4), and 519.0 (D5) g day− 1. The design was randomized complete block design (RCBD) with five animals in each treatment and replication.ResultsThe total DM intake (g day− 1) was significantly higher in D3 (771.4) than in D1 (722.8) and D5 (642.8) but similar to D2 (754.9) and D4 (759.7). Chest-depth and hip-width were significantly influenced by the diets. The average daily gain of sheep in D1 (87.7), D2 (82.0), D3 (83.4), and D4 (75.2) were significantly higher than in D5 (56.0 g day− 1). The hot carcass weight of sheep fed D1 (14.1), D2 (13.7), D3 (12.7), and D4 (12.8) were significantly higher than sheep fed D5 (10.9 kg). Likewise, dressing percentage of sheep for D1 to D4 were higher than D5.ConclusionThe results of the present investigation confirm that replacement of noug seed cake with mulberry and Vernonia mixed leaves meal up to 75% (25% NSC + 75% mulberry and Vernonia mixed leaves) achieved comparable result with concentrate mix in weight gain and carcass yield.

The Effect of Replacing Wildrye Hay with Mulberry Leaves on the Growth Performance, Blood Metabolites, and Carcass Characteristics of Sheep.

Simple SummaryIt is well known that mulberry leaves can be used in animal feed because of their high yield, rich protein content, and palatability. Our study found that partially replacing Chinese wildrye with mulberry leaves could improve meat quality without negatively affecting the growth performance, blood metabolites, and carcass characteristics of sheep. The study suggests that mulberry leaves partially substituted for conventional forage in the diet of sheep may be an effective strategy to alleviate the shortage of high-quality forage sources and to reduce feed costs.The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of partially substituting for conventional forage, Chinese wildrye (CW), with mulberry leaves (ML) on the growth, digestion, ruminal fermentation, blood metabolites, and meat quality of sheep in a 65-day feedlot study. Thirty-two four-month-old male small-tailed Han sheep (25.15 ± 1.03 kg) were randomly assigned to one of four treatments. The dietary treatments consisted of four proportions of ML (0, 8, 24, and 32%) as a substitute for CW (designated as ML0, ML8, ML24, and ML32, respectively). Rumen digesta and blood samples were collected at day 63 of the trial. Carcass traits were assessed after slaughter at the end of performance period. The results from this study revealed no differences in average daily bodyweight gain (ADG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and final body weight (FBW) among treatments. The apparent digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) was higher in the sheep fed with ML than in those fed CW. The ML24 treatment had a higher digestibility of crude protein (CP) and ether extract (EE). There were no differences (p = 0.13) in ruminal pH values among the treatments. However, there was more microbial protein (p < 0.01) in ML24 and ML32 treatments than the ML0 treatment. Ruminal concentrations of acetate and butyrate were significantly different among treatments, although no difference in concentrations of total volatile fatty acid were found. Additionally, no differences were detected for serum parameters except blood urea nitrogen (BUN). No differences were observed for carcass weight (p = 0.62), dressing percentage (p = 0.31) or longissimus dorsi muscle (LM) area (p = 0.94) among treatments. However, intramuscular fat was higher in the ML24 treatment than in the ML0 treatment. (p < 0.01). There were higher pH values of the 24-h longissimus dorsi in the ML24 treatment than in the ML0 treatment. In addition, the saturated fatty acid (SFA) content was lower (p < 0.01) and the monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) content higher (p < 0.01) in the ML24 treatment than in the ML0 treatment. In conclusion, the partially substitution of mulberry leaves for Chinese wildrye in the diet of sheep had a beneficial influence on the growth performance, blood metabolites and carcass characteristics. The inclusion of 24% (air dry basis) mulberry leaf hay in the ration of sheep is recommended based on these findings.

Growth performance and carcass characteristics of finishing male lambs fed barberry pomace-containing diets

Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) fruits contain bioactive compounds with antimicrobial, antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects. The inclusion of barberry pomace (BP) in finishing diets could potentially enhance growth performance and carcass characteristics of sheep. To test this hypothesis, 21 male Balouchi lambs (24.5 ± 4 kg initial live weight; 5 ± 0.6 months of age) were randomly assigned to three BP-containing experimental diets to determine their effects on feed intake, live weight gain and carcass characteristics. The experimental diets were formulated to meet nutrient requirements for a targeted daily weight gain of 200 g as follows: (1) control diet (BP0), (2) control diet in which 7.5% of alfalfa hay and wheat straw were replaced with BP (BP75), (3) control diet in which 15% of alfalfa hay and wheat straw were replaced with BP (BP150). Lambs were fed the experimental diets for 75 days during which feed intake and live weight changes were recorded. At the end of the feeding period, lambs were fasted for 16 h, weighed and then slaughtered in order to determine carcass characteristics. Experimental diets had no effect on feed intake and growth performance of lambs. Similarly, diets had no effect (p > 0.05) on weight of carcass, commercial cuts (neck, shoulder, loin, leg, fat-tail, brisket, flank) and non-carcass components (head, skin, feet, lung and trachea, heart, liver, spleen, gastro-intestinal, kidney, bladder and testicles) but linearly increased (p < 0.05) warm and cold dressing percentage as well as heart weight. These results do not support the hypothesis that feeding BP-containing diets enhances growth performance and carcass characteristics of male Balouchi lambs. However, inclusion of BP had no negative effects on animal performance and carcass characteristics.

Dry matter intake, performance and carcass characteristics of hair sheep reared under different grazing systems

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of three different grazing systems: isolated, alternate and simultaneous, on feed intake, performance and carcass characteristics of sheep. About 5.2 ha area of Tanzania grass (Panicum maximun Jacq cultivate Tanzania) was divided into 13 paddocks. This area was used as a stocking rate of two animal units (AU) per ha for 7 days? occupation and 21 days rest. A total number of 58 animals were used consisting of 12 heifers and 30 Santa Ines lambs with the addition of 16 adult ewes that were used to stabilize grazing pressure in the isolated system. The sheep were fed on 200 g per head per day of concentrate and cattle 2 kg per head per day. The parameters determined were the following: weekly weight (WW), total live weight gain (LWG) and mean daily weight gain (MDW). Also dry matter intake was estimated 84 days after the start of the experiment using external indicators (Purified and Enriched Lignin) in addition to carcass traits and composition which were also estimated. The result obtained for carcass composition revealed that the muscle:bone ratio and bone percentage were better in the alternate system. Moreover, the simultaneous and isolated systems showed higher lamb performance than the alternate system, while there was no effect on dry matter intake. Furthermore, there was no difference of the different systems on carcass traits and feed intake of sheep. Nevertheless, the simultaneous grazing system showed better sheep performance than the alternate grazing system.

Carcass characteristics of sheep fed with castor bean hulls in replacement of tifton 85 hay

Castor bean hulls (CBH), co-products of castor oil extraction, are high in dry matter (DM) and fiber and are emerging as alternative roughage in sheep feed. This could reduce feed costs since other sources of roughage can be more expensive. The effects of replacing Tifton 85 hay with CBH at 0, 33, 66 and 100% in the diet of sheep on the carcass characteristics, weights and yields of retail cuts and carcass measurements were studied. Twenty-eight non-castrated sheep averaging 7 ± 1.4 months of age with an initial weight of 19.5 ± 4.3 kg were slaughtered after 70 days of confinement. There was a linear decline (P ≤ 0.05) in slaughter body weight, empty body weight, hot and cold carcass weight and longissimus muscle area (LMA) as the percentage of dietary CBH increased. A linear decrease (P≤0.05) of the weights of all retail cuts and a quadratic effect (minimum yield of 9.84% with the replacement of 56.9%) of the neck yield were also detected as the percentage of CBH increased. No treatment effects (P &gt; 0.05) on the yield of the other cuts were observed, but there was a linear decline (P ≤ 0.05) in the perimeters of the thorax, leg and rump and the carcass compactness index. Replacing Tifton 85 hay with CBH in sheep diets is not recommended because it decreases the slaughter body weight, cold and hot carcass weight, retail cut weights and morphometric measurements.

Effect of increasing conjugated linoleic acid content on carcass characteristics of sheep

Effect of increasing conjugated linoleic acid content on carcass characteristics of sheep