Carcass Fat Research Articles

Substitution effects of soybean meal by Lathyrus sativus L. (grass pea) on nutrient digestibility, growth performances, carcass traits and meat quality of lambs grazing on saline area

Considering the substitution of soybean meal by locally legumes in Mediterranean saline areas, the present work aimed to determine the effect of Lathyrus sativus L. (grass pea) seeds incorporation on digestibility, growth performances, carcass and meat qualities of lambs grazing natural saline rangeland. Forty-five weaned female Queue Fine de l′Ouest lambs (IBW 21.5 ± 2.17 kg) were randomly divided into three groups (n = 15). Each group received 300 g per animal of one of three concentrates containing 0 (Control), 12% (G12) and 30% (G30) of grass pea seeds. All groups were reared on pasture rich on spontaneous halophytic shrubs and herbs for two months. At the end of the experiment, eight lambs per group were slaughtered. Replacing soybean meal by grass pea seeds with the reduction in amount of maize, barley and alfalfa pellet had no effect on nutrient digestibility and feed intake. Digestible crude protein (DCP)/ metabolizable energy (ME) ratio and average daily gain (ADG) were similar among groups (11.15; 183 g/day, respectively). The incorporation of grass pea did not affect (P > 0.05) cold carcass weight and commercial dressing percentage and averaged 13.17 kg and 44.84%, respectively. Red offal percentage was not modified. Moreover, it was found that grass pea seeds did not have any significant effect on carcass fatness (P > 0.05). The average percentage of high-priced joints was 60.87% and was not affected by grass pea seeds incorporation. All lambs had the same shoulder tissue composition. Meat pH, drip and cooking losses were not influenced by diet treatments, as well as the meat chemical composition. Indeed, lamb meat had the same proportions of protein and intramuscular fat. From these findings, it can be concluded that a supply up to 90 g/head/d of grass pea seeds had no effect on digestibility, growth rate, carcass traits and quality of the resultant meat and reduced the use of imported feed ingredients (soybean meal, maize, alfalfa pellet). These results may present significant opportunities for fattening lambs on saline lands.

Utilization of Tiwai Onion Nanoparticles (Eleutherine amaricana Merr) as Feed Mixture Towards Quality of Broiler Carcass

This study aims to determine the best concentration of Tiwai Onion nanoparticles and the effect of giving Tiwai Onion nanoparticles on the quality of meat and organoleptic broilers. Method: This study used a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with five treatments and five repetitions, each repeat consisting of five broilers, using 125 broilers raised for 35 days. The research parameters were carcass weight, carcass protein, abdominal fat, carcass fat, and organoleptic tests.P0 represented the control or no administration of Tiwai Onion nanoparticles, whereas P1 0.2%, P2 0.4%, P3 0.6%, and P4 0.8% administration of Tiwai onions. The data obtained on carcass weight, abdominal fat, and organoleptic were then analyzed using One Way Anova and Duncan's test, while carcass protein and carcass fat were analyzed descriptively. The results showed that the administration of Tiwai Onion nanoparticles had no significant (P>0.05) influence on the percentage of carcass weight, texture, and scent of broiler chickens, but had a significant (P0.05) effect on the percentage of abdominal fat and meat colour Conclusion: This indicates that the addition of the highest level tiwai Onion nanoparticles resulted in positive carcass protein and fat values.

Comparison of Meat Quality From Hanwoo Cattle Having Yellow and White Carcass Fat

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the normal and yellow-colored fat on carcass on carotenoid contents in fat and meat quality of Hanwoo beef. A total of 20 female cattle, comprising 10 with normal carcass fat color (normal group) and 10 with yellow carcass fat color (yellow group), were collected from slaughterhouses throughout the country in Korea from May to July 2022. The color, fatty acid composition, and carotenoid contents in carcass fat, as well as various parameters related to meat quality such as proximate composition, pH, color, cooking loss, shear force, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in the striploin were measured. The results indicated that the yellowness of carcass fat was primarily influenced by the carotenoid content in the fat (r=0.540, P<0.05) and was not affected by other carcass properties such as quality grade, maturity, and age. The yellow group showed distinct differences in yellowness and fatty acid composition of the carcass fat compared to the normal group, with lower levels of saturated fatty acids and higher levels of monounsaturated fatty acids (P<0.05). However, no significant differences were observed in the meat quality parameters between the normal and yellow groups, suggesting that the yellowness of carcass fat did not significantly correlate with the inferior physicochemical properties of Hanwoo beef. Although further research is needed to better understand the complex factors contributing to the appearance of yellow carcass fat in Korea, this study highlights that beef having yellow carcass fat does not necessarily have a negative effect on meat quality.

Improving Shelf Life and Content of Unsaturated Fatty Acids in Meat of Lambs Fed a Diet Supplemented with Grape Dregs.

This study was conducted to evaluate the potential effects of dietary grape residue levels on the slaughter indicators, meat quality, meat shelf-life, unsaturated fatty acid content, and expression of fatty acid deposition genes in the muscle of lambs. Sixty 30-month-old male Dorper and Small-Tailed Han F1 hybrid lambs were assigned to a single factor complete randomized trial design and fed with four different diets including 0%, 8%, 16%, and 24% grape dregs, respectively. The findings regarding meat production efficacy in the lambs revealed substantial differences. The control group showed notably lower dressing percentage, carcass weight, net meat weight, meat percentage concerning carcass, meat-to-bone ratio, relative visceral and kidney fat mass, and rib eye area compared to the other groups (p < 0.05). Additionally, the meat shearing force of lambs fed a diet with 16% grape pomace (GP) was significantly higher than that of the 24% GP group (p < 0.05), while the 24 h meat color parameter a* value of the control group was notably higher than that of the 8% GP group (p < 0.05). In addition, compared to the control group, lambs fed with a diet containing 16% GP had higher levels of oleic acid (C18:1n-9c), linoleic acid (C18:2n-6c), behenic acid (C22:0), tricosanoic acid (C23:0), lignoceric acid (C24:0), and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), at a ratio of ∑CLA/TFA, ∑n-6, ∑MUFA, and ∑PUFA in the longissimus dorsi muscle (p < 0.05), but the reverse case was applicable for Total Volatile Basic Nitrogen (TVB-N) content (p < 0.05). GP supplementation did not substantially affect the expression of stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD), peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPARα), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) genes (p > 0.05). The findings indicated that incorporating grape dregs in the diets of fattening lambs leads to notable enhancements in meat production and the antioxidant capacity of lamb meat, and effectively extends the shelf life of the meat.

Differences in the choice of beef artificial insemination sires used by dairy producers versus beef producers

The growing demand among dairy producers for suitable beef sires to mate to their females creates the possibility of separate breeding programs to generate beef sires for the dairy sector versus those for the beef sector. Informing such a decision is the extent of the genetic differences among beef sires used by dairy producers relative to those used by beef producers. The objective therefore of the present study was to use a large national database of artificial insemination (AI) records in dairy and beef cow herds to establish the difference in mean genetic merit of beef AI sires used by dairy producers versus those used by cow-calf beef producers. The traits explored were gestation length, calving difficulty, and perinatal mortality as well as the 3 carcass traits of carcass weight, conformation, and fat score. Carcass conformation and fat score are mechanically assessed on a scale of 1 (poor conformation and low fat cover) to 15 (excellent conformation and high fat cover). Sire genetic merit differences for feed intake and docility were also examined. Estimates of genetic merit for all 8 traits on individual AI sires available at the time of service were used. A total of 1,230,622 AI records comprised 909,719 services from dairy herds and 320,903 services from beef herds were used. Of the 1,802 beef AI sires represented in the entire dataset, over half were used by both dairy and beef herds representing ≥98% of the services in each production system. However, the usage rate of individual AI sires differed between dairy and beef herds with the Spearman rank correlation between the quantity of inseminations per sire in dairy and beef herds being just 0.38. This correlation means that beef AI sires used heavily in the beef herd were not always those heavily used in dairy herds. A clear difference in the mean genetic merit of beef AI sires selected by dairy producers relative to those selected by beef cow-calf producers was obvious with the extent of the difference being a function of whether the female served was a nulliparous heifer or a cow. Much of the differences in genetic merit of chosen beef AI sires between dairy and beef producers was actually attributable to differences in breed choice, albeit some within-breed selection was also evident. Irrespective, dairy producers, on average, chose shorter gestation length sires whose progeny were genetically less predisposed to require intervention during the birthing process; these sires had genetic merit estimates expected to result in lighter and less conformed progeny carcasses relative to the beef AI sires used by beef producers. Results point to large differences in genetic merit of the beef AI sires chosen by dairy versus beef producers, much of which actually reflected differences in breed choice among dairy and beef producers.

The Effect of Replacing Whole-Plant Corn Silage with Daylily on the Growth Performance, Slaughtering Performance, Muscle Amino Acid Composition, and Blood Composition of Tan Sheep.

The shortage of high-quality coarse feed resources is the main factor that restricts the development of animal husbandry in many developing countries. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of replacing corn silage with daylily silage on the growth performance, slaughter performance, blood biochemical indicators, meat quality, and muscle amino acid composition of Tan sheep. A total of 72 healthy Tan sheep were randomly assigned to four groups. In each group, 0%, 20%, 40%, and 60% of corn silage were replaced with daylily silage (denoted as CON, HC20, HC40, and HC60, respectively). Tan sheep fed with daylily silage showed no significant adverse effects on their growth performance, meat quality, and muscle amino acid composition (p > 0.05). Some increase was observed in the carcass fat content value (GR-value, p < 0.05), thickness of backfat (p < 0.05), and the blood urea level (p < 0.05). These findings indicate that the utilization of daylily silage instead of whole-plant corn silage has no adverse effects on the growth performance and meat quality of Tan sheep, thus indicating that it can partially replace whole-plant corn feed as a feed resource for Tan sheep.

Using in-abattoir 3-dimensional measurements from images of beef carcasses for the prediction of EUROP classification grade and carcass weight

Imaging technology can aid the automatic extraction of measurements from beef carcasses, which can be used for objective grading. Many abattoirs, however, rely on manual grading due to the required infrastructure and cost, making technology unfeasible. This study explores 3-dimensional (3D) imaging technology, requiring limited infrastructure, and its ability to predict carcass weight, conformation class and fat class for non-invasive, objective classification. Time-of-flight near-infrared cameras captured 3-dimensional point clouds of beef carcasses, on-line in one commercial abattoir in Scotland, over a 6-month period. Thirty-five 3D images were captured per carcass and processed using machine vison software. Seventy-four measurements were extracted from each point cloud. Removal of extreme outliers resulted in 285,109 datapoints for 17,250 carcasses. Coefficients of variation (CV) for each measurement on a per-animal basis were low and consistent, and measurements were averaged across images. Using a training and validation dataset (70:30), multiple linear regression models predicted EUROP conformation class, fat class, and carcass weight. Stepwise models included fixed effects (sex, breed type, kill date (and cold carcass weight for conformation and fat class)), and 3D image measurements. Including 3D measurements resulted in prediction accuracies of 70%, 50% and 23% for cold carcass weight, conformation, and fat class respectively. Mapping predictions on the traditional EUROP grid used in the UK showed that 99% of conformation classes and 93% of fat classes were classified within the correct or neighbouring grade. The results of this study indicate the potential for non-invasive, in-abattoir technology requiring limited infrastructure to predict carcass traits objectively.

148 Does Increased Gametic Variance Translate to Increased Heterogeneity in progeny?

Abstract The expected genetic merit of a new-born calf is simply the average genetic merit estimates of its parents. Parents with a very heterogenous genotype could, however, potentially generate a more heterogenous group of progeny than parents with a more homogenous genotype. The objective of the present study was to test this hypothesis, and a secondary objective was to determine the expected progeny variability in their estimates of genetic merit for traits associated with dairy-beef production based on their expected genomic heterogeneity. Gametic variance for calving difficulty, calf mortality, gestation length, docility, feed intake, and carcass weight, fat, and conformation was estimated for 22,038 beef sires of multiple breeds. Sire gametic variance per trait was estimated for each chromosome from all heterozygous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), their location within the genome, and the estimated effect of each SNP on each trait. Gametic variance was estimated for the whole genome as the sum of the estimated gametic variance of all chromosomes. Individual progeny phenotypic records for each trait were adjusted for animal sex, dam parity and dam genetic merit for the trait, heterosis, recombination loss, and contemporary group. The correlations between sire estimated gametic variance and the standard deviation of his (adjusted) progeny phenotypes were then estimated for all sires with at least 20 progeny records; the number of genotyped sires with at least 20 progeny ranged from 2,395 (heifer calving assistance) to 8,545 (calf mortality). The mean gametic variance, relative to the variance of sire genetic merit, for heifer calving difficulty, cow calving difficulty, calf mortality, gestation length, docility, feed intake, carcass weight, carcass conformation, carcass fat were 0.0002, 0.0005, 0.09, 0.07, 0.30, 0.02, 0.25, 0.05, and 0.12, respectively. With the exception of carcass fat and carcass weight, the correlations between the estimated gametic variance per sire and the standard deviation of his (adjusted) progeny phenotypes were non-existent (-0.06 to 0.04); the correlations between the standard deviation of the adjusted progeny phenotypes and the gametic variance for carcass fat and carcass weight were 0.29 and 0.16, respectively. The (weak) correlations between gametic variance and progeny phenotypes for carcass fat and carcass weight suggest that greater gametic variance is associated with increased progeny heterogeneity for both carcass traits. Nevertheless, accounting for gametic variance when selecting beef bulls for use on dairy females seems to provide little benefit.

325 Understanding Variation in Residual Feed Intake of Brahman Steers Fed Two Different Diets

Abstract Improving feed efficiency in cattle is a long-standing aim of the beef industry. However, discrepancies in the ranking of bulls based on the diets used and calculation methods employed for defining feed efficiency have been observed. Hence, the objective of this research was to assess the extent to which different factors influence feed efficiency in Brahman steers. Individual DMI and ADG were measured, and residual feed intake (RFI) calculated using linear regression of DMI on ADG and midtest metabolic body weight. Eight-nine steers were initially fed a low-protein diet (LP, 8.8% CP) for 70 days, followed by a high-protein (HP, 13.5% CP) diet for another 70 days. The genetic variation among steers and the proportion of Bos indicus genes were determined using the GGP Indicus 50K assay (Neogen Corporation, Ipswich, Australia). Rumen bacteriome variation was determined with 16S rRNA gene sequencing of rumen fluid collected before and after feeding. Daily diet refusals were visually scored for the proportion of pellets versus hay and expressed as a diet selection index (1 to 3). Organic matter digestibility (OMD) was determined using total feces collection in metabolism crates. Plasma urea nitrogen (PUN) was measured in blood samples collected at four time points. The diet-animal fractionation of nitrogen isotopes (Δ15Ntail hair) was quantified in tail hair using isotope-ratio mass spectroscopy to indicate differences in nitrogen metabolism. Finally, carcass characteristics were determined at slaughter. Including carcass fat depth improved (P = 0.01) DMI prediction (R2 increased from 78.4 to 80.4%) in the LP diet but had a smaller effect (P = 0.39) in the HP diet (R2 increased from 75.0 to 75.2%). In the LP diet, the variation in carcass fat-correct RFI (RFIc) could be explained by DMI (14.5% of the variation), rumen bacteriome (5.89%), diet selection index (3.08%), PUN (1.88%), genetic distance (0.76%) and OMD (0.50%), accounting for a total of 26.6% of the RFIc variation. In the HP diet, the regression model explained 35.3% of the RFIc variation, with DMI explaining 25.9%, diet selection index 7.19%, rumen bacteriome 1.02%, genetic distance 0.73% and Δ15Ntail hair 0.50%. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of measuring diet selection to accurately determine RFI in cattle. The results also suggest that variations in the rumen bacteriome and nitrogen metabolism parameters play a role in individual variations of feed efficiency. However, most of the variation in feed efficiency remained unexplained.

Carcass characteristics and meat quality of thin-tailed Kivircik and fat-tailed Kangal Akkaraman lambs according to EUROP carcass fatness and conformation classes

A carcass classification method is expected to effectively categorize carcasses based on both carcass and meat quality criteria. Localisation of adipose tissue on the carcass differs between thin- and fat-tailed sheep breeds, which may influence the effectiveness of the EUROP classification system in distinguishing lamb carcasses. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of EUROP carcass fatness and conformation classes on carcass characteristics and meat quality in thin-tailed Kivircik and fat-tailed Kangal Akkaraman lambs. Slaughtering, carcass, and meat quality data of 115 lambs (67 Kivircik and 48 Kangal Akkaraman) were examined. Hierarchical cluster analysis yielded 3 clusters in both breeds. Differences among lamb carcasses in different clusters were significant for nearly all carcass characteristics in both breeds. Fatness and conformation classes significantly influenced on most of the carcass characteristics in both breeds. However, the effect of fatness class on percentages of valuable joints, and the effect of conformation class on hind limb tissue composition were not significant in Kangal Akkaraman lambs. As carcass fatness and conformation classes increased in Kivircik lambs, meat colour became darker. In Kangal Akkaraman lambs, fatness class had no influence on meat colour. The effects of fatness and conformation classes on sensory characteristics were not significant in both breeds, except fatness effect on odour intensity in Kangal Akkaraman lambs. In conclusion, the EUROP classification system may not be as effective in distinguishing carcass and meat quality in Kangal Akkaraman lambs as in the Kivircik breed.

240 Comparing Increasing Tryptophan: Lysine Ratios in Distiller Dried Grains-Based Diets with or without Distiller Dried Grains withdrawal Strategy on Growth and Carcass Performance of Grow-Finish Pigs

Abstract A total of 6,240 pigs [DNA 600 × PIC 1050; initial body weight (BW) = 22.5 ± 0.20 kg], divided into 2 groups, were used in 119- or 120- day study comparing increasing Trp:Lys ratio in diets with DDGS or a DDGS withdrawal strategy on growth and carcass performance and carcass fat iodine value of grow-finish pigs. Pigs were randomly allotted to 1 of 7 dietary treatments with 30 to 36 pigs per pen and 26 replications per treatment. Diets were fed in 4 phases (approximately 23 to 44, 44 to 71, 71 to 104, and 104 kg to market). Diets included a control corn-soybean meal-based diet formulated to a 19% SID Trp:Lys ratio, 4 diets with 30% DDGS fed in all four phases and formulated to achieve 16%, 19%, 22%, or 25% SID Trp:Lys ratio, respectively, and 2 DDGS withdrawal strategy diets: 19% SID Trp:Lys with 30% DDGS in phase 1 through 3 and then in phase 4, 0% DDGS with either a 19 or 25% Trp:Lys ratio. Overall, BW, ADG, ADFI, and G:F increased (linear, P &amp;lt; 0.05) as SID Trp:Lys ratio increased in diets with 30% DDGS fed in all 4 phases (Table). Pigs fed diets containing a SID Trp:Lys ratio of 19% and 30% DDGS from phases 1 through 3 and 0% DDGS in phase 4 had the greatest numeric ADG and ADFI for the overall study, but was not different than pigs fed the control for ADG, or the 25% Trp:Lys withdrawal treatment and the 30% DDGS diets with 25% Trp:Lys ratio throughout the study for ADG and ADFI. Hot carcass weight and carcass yield increased (quadratic, P &amp;lt; 0.05) as Trp:Lys ratio increased. Carcass fat samples were taken from the loin-butt junction and analyzed for iodine value. Pigs fed the control diet had decreased (P &amp;lt; 0.05) carcass fat iodine value compared with pigs fed DDGS throughout the study, with pigs fed the two DDGS withdrawal strategies having decreased (P &amp;lt; 0.05) iodine values compared with pigs fed 30% DDGS in all 4 phases. In summary, increasing the SID Trp:Lys ratio in diets with 30% DDGS resulted in a linear improvement in ADG, ADFI, G:F, and BW but did not influence iodine values. Removing DDGS from the diet in the last period reduced carcass fat iodine value and increased growth rate during the withdrawal period compared with pigs fed 30% DDGS throughout, indicating value in a DDGS withdrawal strategy.

PSII-8 Effects of Extruded-Expelled Soybean Meal and Benzoic Acid on Growth Performance, Carcass Characteristics, and Carcass Fat Iodine Value of Finishing Pigs

Abstract A total of 2,162 pigs (PIC 1050 × DNA 600; initially 31.4 ± 0.47 kg) were used in a 109-d finishing trial to evaluate the effects of extruded-expelled soybean meal (EESBM) and benzoic acid on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and carcass fat iodine value. Pigs were randomly allotted to 1 of 4 treatments with 27 to 28 pigs per pen and 20 pens per treatment. Dietary treatments were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial with main effects of soybean meal source and benzoic acid. Diets contained either conventional soybean meal (SBM) or extruded-expelled soybean meal (EESBM; Lester Feed and Grain, Lester, IA) with or without 0.25% benzoic acid (VevoVitall, DSM Nutritional Products; Parsippany, NJ). The EESBM was analyzed to be 43.2% CP and 7.73% fat (acid hydrolysis). Experimental diets were not balanced for energy, but rather formulated to the same SID Lys:ME ratio and fed based on a feed budget from d 0 to 109 in 6 phases. Overall (d 0 to 109), there were no interactions between soybean meal source and benzoic acid (P &amp;gt; 0.10; Table 1). There was a main effect of soybean meal source where pigs fed EESBM had reduced (P = 0.010) ADFI compared with pigs fed conventional SBM without influencing ADG, resulting in increased (P &amp;lt; 0.001) G:F. Also, pigs fed diets with benzoic acid had reduced (P = 0.022) ADFI compared with pigs fed diets without benzoic acid without changes in ADG, resulting in pigs fed benzoic acid having increased (P = 0.006) G:F. When evaluating caloric efficiency, pigs fed diets containing benzoic acid had improved (P &amp;lt; 0.001) metabolizable energy (ME) caloric efficiency compared with pigs fed diets without benzoic acid, with soybean meal source not having any impact. For carcass belly fat IV, pigs fed EESBM had increased (P &amp;lt; 0.001) carcass belly fat iodine value compared with pigs fed conventional SBM. In summary, replacing conventional SBM with EESBM and the addition of benzoic acid improved feed efficiency. Also, as expected, pigs fed EESBM had a greater carcass belly fat iodine value compared with pigs fed conventional SBM, most likely due to the greater dietary unsaturated fatty acid contribution from EESBM.

Using fat thickness and longissimus thoracis traits real-time ultrasound measurements in Black Belly ewe lambs to predict carcass tissue composition through multiresponse multivariate adaptive regression splines algorithm

The main idea of the current study was to estimate carcass tissue composition using fat thickness and longissimus thoracis (LT) traits real-time ultrasound measurements (USM) in Black Belly ewe lambs through multiresponse multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) algorithms. Twenty-four hours before slaughter, subcutaneous (SFT) and kidney-fat thickness (KFT), LT depth (LTD), width (LTA, cm) and area (LTMA) were measured in 60 lambs (BW of 26.40 ± 7.01 kg). Information on carcass and non-carcass components was recorded after slaughter. The total carcass muscle (TCM), total carcass bone (TCB), and total carcass fat (TCF) had a low to high correlation (P < 0.01) with BW, cold carcass weight (CCW), and LTD, SFT, KFT, and LDMA. The CCW (%65.58) and SFT (%16.70) were the most effective variables, whilst LTD (%9.57) and LTMA (%8.15) were the lowest variables for determining TCB, TCM, and TCF. The multiresponse MARS algorithm provides an accurate and efficient means of estimating TCF, TCB, and TCM.

Genome-wide association study of health and production traits in meat sheep.

Genotypes are currently widely used in animal breeding programmes to enhance the speed of genetic progress. With sufficient data, a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) can be performed to identify informative markers. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic background of health (footrot and mastitis) and production (birth weight, weaning weight, scan weight, and fat and muscle depth) traits using the available phenotypic and Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) data collected on the UK Texel sheep population. Initially, 10193 genotypes were subject to quality control, leaving 9505 genotypes for further analysis. Selected genotypes, recorded on four different Illumina chip types from low density (15k SNPs) to high density (606006 SNPs), were imputed to a subset of 45686 markers from 50k array, distributed on 27 chromosomes. Phenotypes collected on 32 farms across the UK for footrot and mastitis and extracted from the UK National database (iTexel) for the production traits were used along with pre-estimated variance components to obtain de-regressed breeding values and used to perform GWAS. Results showed three SNPs being significant on the genome-wise level ('OAR8_62240378.1' on chromosome 8 for birth weight, 's14444.1' on chromosome 19 for weaning weight and 's65197.1' on chromosome 23 for scan weight). Fourteen subsequent SNPs were found to be significant at the chromosome-wise level. These SNPs are located within or close to previously reported QTLs impacting on animal health (such as faecal egg count or somatic cell count) and production (such as body or carcass weight and fat amount). These results indicate that the studied traits are highly polygenic with complex genetic architecture.

Role of housing system and season on the carcass and meat quality traits of growing rabbits reared in Italian commercial farms

The aim of this study was to compare the carcass traits and meat quality of growing rabbits reared in four types of commercially available housing systems (i.e. bicellular cages, dual-purpose cages, enriched cages and elevated pens) across three production cycles covering different seasons (i.e. autumn, winter and summer) under field conditions. The rabbits originated from 12 commercial farms (three farms per housing system) located in the Northeast of Italy and were slaughtered in five commercial slaughterhouses at a slaughter age from 71 to 90 d. Twenty carcasses per farm and cycle were randomly selected at the slaughterhouse and carcass and meat quality traits were evaluated 24 h post-mortem. The heaviest carcass weights were found in rabbits reared in enriched cages, followed by those in parks, while the lightest carcasses were found in rabbits from bicellular cages. Carcass fat and longissimus lumborum proportions were higher and hind legs proportion lower in carcasses of rabbits kept in enriched cages compared to those from the other systems. Based on significant differences for meat quality traits (i.e. pH, L*, thawing losses and shear force) among housing systems, ante-mortem stress was likely lower in rabbits from enriched cages and parks than in those from bicellular and dual-purpose cages. Nevertheless, these differences were not translated into noticeable changes in meat quality because of the small variations among housing systems. Overall, the observed differences could not be strictly and exclusively related to the enclosure in which the animals were housed, but also to other production and ante-mortem factors. The rearing season significantly affected slaughter traits, with lower slaughter and carcass weights in summer compared to winter and autumn. Despite the limit in the sample size of investigated farms, this study highlighted that under field conditions the final product quality of rabbits is not clearly distinguishable based on the housing system per se.

EFFECT OF PROLONGED STORAGE IN ICE ON NUTRIENTS COMPOSITION AND SENSORY QUALITY OF FRESH POND RAISED CATFISH (Clarias gariepinus Burchell, 1822)

Fish storage on ice has been one of commonly used methods to preserve fresh fish for subsequent processing and consumption. This study was carried out to assess the effect of prolonged storage in ice on nutrient composition and sensory quality of whole fresh pond raised Catfish (Clarias gariepinus). Live fish samples, with an average weight of 500g were purchased from custom market in Maiduguri Borno state and transported in plastic bucket containing water to the Department of Fisheries, Research and Teaching Farm, University of Maiduguri were the experiment was carried out. The fish were degutted, washed and iced immediately. Data was analyzed using a statistical package SPSS version 20.0. The result of the study shows that that sensory quality of fresh C. gariepinus declines with time when stored in ice and that storage for not more than 15 days could maintain acceptable quality. The nutritional quality of cat fish deteriorated with time when stored in ice. Crude protein decreased from 30% at day1 to 21.57% at day9. Similarly, NFE decrease from 17.78 at day1 to 2.30% at day 15. However, Carcass fat increased with storage time, from 25.25 at day1 to 36.9% at day12. Dry matter content decreased with increasing time of storage indicating increased moisture content of the product. The result shows that that like any other fish C. gariepinus has a relatively longer shelf life when kept in ice. It is concluded that there is a significant change in the proximate composition of the fish...

Features of calves’ meat productivity formation with different energy nutritional value of forage

An increase in the level of nutrients in calves diets with a 87.5% Holstein blood genotype by 10-20% compared with the Animal Science Center norms contributes to a significant (P? 0.999) increase in live weight (by 39-73.8 kg). By carcass weight, the bulls of the first and second experimental groups outperformed analogues from the control group by 26.0–52.1 kg (P?0.999), by carcass yield by 2.41–3.92% (P?0.999), by slaughter yield 2.39–4.0% (P?0.999). According to the yield of internal fat, the superiority of the bulls of the first and second experimental groups in comparison with the control group was 0.44–1.64 kg, or 5.2–19.4%. The bulls of the second experimental group differed in their hams and developed musculine torso. The meat index of the experimental bulls is higher compared to the control group by 0.13–0.39%. An increase in the level of feeding by 10-20% in bulls’ diets contributes to a significant increase by 21.1-34.7% in protein and fat carcasses. Hence, the optimization of breeding system and feeding conditions for Holsteinized animals allows maximizing their genetically determined productivity potential.

Predicting carcass tissue composition in Blackbelly sheep using ultrasound measurements and machine learning methods.

This study aimed to predict Blackbelly sheep carcass tissue composition using ultrasound measurements and machine learning models. The models evaluated were decision trees, random forests, support vector machines, and multi-layer perceptrons and were used to predict the total carcass bone (TCB), total carcass fat (TCF), and total carcass muscle (TCM). The best model for predicting the three parameters, TCB, TCF, and TCM was random forests, with mean squared error (MSE) of 0.31, 0.33, and 0.53; mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.26, 0.29, and 0.53; and the coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.67, 0.69, and 0.76, respectively. The results showed that machine learning methods from in vivo ultrasound measurements can be used as determinants of carcass tissue composition, resulting in reliable results.

ALLOMETRIC GROWTH PATTERNS OF BODY AND CARCASS COMPONENT IN DOCKED AND INTACT KARADI LAMBS

To study the allometric growth of body and carcass traits, twelve new born Karadi lambs were docked within 3 days of their birth using rubber-rings, and left with their mothers till weaning (2.5 months). Another 12 weaned Karadi lambs obtained from local market were left intact. Following an adaptation period of a week, the docked and intact lambs with an average initial weight of 16.83±1.522 and 19.92± 0.748kg, respectively were randomly divided into three equal groups to be slaughtered at 20, 30 and 40kg. Results revealed that the allometric growth coefficients of both docked and intact lambs of dissectible lean and bone were negative heterogenic (b&lt;1), indicating an early maturing tissues, while the growth of dissectible fat is a late maturing tissues. In both groups, loin, shoulder, foreshank and rack are an early maturing cuts, neck is isogonic, while leg in intact lambs is an early maturing whereas in docked lambs grew at a similar rate to carcass. In docked and intact lambs, carcass fat relative to empty body weight is an early and late maturing tissues, whereas non-carcass fat is isogonic and grew at a similar rate to empty body weight in both groups. The growth of pelt, liver, lung and trachea and heart were isogonic and grew at a similar rate to empty body weight in both groups

Mean breed performance of the progeny from beef-on-dairy matings

Gains through breeding can be achieved through a combination of both between-breed and within-breed selection. Two suites of traits of particular interest to dairy producers when selecting beef bulls for mating to dairy females are calving-related attributes and the expected value of the subsequent calf, the latter usually being a function of expected carcass value. Estimated breed effects can be informative, particularly in the absence of across-breed genetic evaluations. The objective of the present study was to use a large national database of the progeny from beef-on-dairy matings to estimate the mean breed effects of the used beef sires. Calving performance (i.e., gestation length, calving difficulty score, and perinatal morality) as well as calf value were investigated; a series of slaughter-related traits (i.e., carcass metrics and age at slaughter) of the prime progeny were also investigated. Phenotypic data on up to 977,037 progeny for calving performance, 79,903 for calf price and 103,175 for carcass traits (including dairyxdairy progeny for comparative purposes) were used; sire breeds represented were Holstein-Friesian, Angus, Aubrac, Belgian Blue, Charolais, Hereford, Limousin, Salers and Simmental. Large inter-breed differences existed. The mean gestation length of male calves from beef sires varied from 282.3 d (Angus) to 287.4 d (Limousin) which were all longer than the mean of 280.9 d for Holstein-Friesian sired male calves. Relative to a Holstein-Friesian sire, the odds of dystocia varied from 1.43 (Angus) to 4.77 (Belgian Blue) but, once adjusted for both the estimated maternal genetic merit of the dam and direct genetic merit of the calf for calving difficulty, the range in odds ratios shrunk. A difference of €125.4 existed in calf sale price between the progeny of the different beef breeds investigated which represented over twice the residual standard deviation in calf price within the day of sale - Angus was the cheapest while Charolais calves were, on average, the most expensive calves. Mean carcass weight of steers, not adjusted for age at slaughter or carcass fat, varied from 327.1 kg (Angus) to 363.2 kg (Belgian Blue) for the beef breeds with the mean carcass weight of Holstein-Friesian steer progeny being 322.4 kg. Belgian Blues had, on average, the best carcass conformation with the Herefords and Angus having the worst of all beef breeds. Angus and Hereford steers were slaughtered the youngest of all beef breeds but just 9 d younger than the average of all other beef breeds yet 24 d younger than Holstein-Friesian sired progeny. Clear breed differences in calving and carcass performance exist among beef breeds mated to dairy females. Those breeds excelling in calving performance were not necessarily the best for carcass merit.