Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T09:18:37.456Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Carcass composition and body fat depots of Galego Bragançano and crossbred lambs by Suffolk and Merino Precoce sire breeds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

A. Teixeira ,
R. Delfa  and
T. Treacher
A. Teixeira
Affiliation:
Escola Superior Agrária, Institute Politécnico de Bragança, Área de Zootecnia, Apartado 172, 5300 Braganga, Portugal
R. Delfa
Affiliation:
Unidad de Tecnologia en Producción Animal, Servicio de Investigation Agrária, Diputación General de Aragon, Apartado 727, 50080 Zaragoza, Spain
T. Treacher
Affiliation:
Departamento de Producción Animal, Universidad de Córdoba, ETSIAM, Apartado 3948, 14080 Córdoba, Spain
Get access

Abstract

The main purpose of this work was to compare two breeds of improved rams (Suffolk and Merino Precoce) with the local Galego Bragangano breed for the production of crossbred slaughter lambs and to evaluate which cross was more adapted for meat production from the local breed in locations in the north-east of Portugal. The experiment was carried out over a 4-year period in three locations: (1) a farm with an intensive management; (2) an upland farm (400 to 600 m); and (3) a hill farm (above 800 m). Within each flock with 90 Galego Bragangano ewes, two rams of each of the sire breeds were used: Galego Bragangano, Suffolk and Merino Precoce. The lambs were slaughtered at 20 and 40kg, to obtain the carcass weight range of 8 to 14kg. The left sides of 151 carcasses were dissected into muscle, subcutaneous fat, intermuscular fat and bone. The lambs from location 1 had the highest carcass muscle proportion and the lowest carcass intermuscular fat proportion; their differences over locations 2 and 3 were 13 and 16 g/kgfor muscle proportion and 11 and 19 g/kgfor intermuscular fat proportion, respectively. The differences between breeds were relatively small and not significant. However the Suffolk crosses had less kidney, knob and channel fat than the other genotypes (5 and Uglkg less than Merino crosses and Bragangano, respectively). The Suffolk crosses tended to have less body fat.

Keywords

body fatcarcass compositioncrossbreeding lambsfarm comparisonslambs
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Science , Volume 63 , Issue 3 , December 1996 , pp. 389 - 394
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Cameron, N. D. and Drury, D. J. 1985. Comparison of terminal sire breeds for growth and carcass traits in crossbred lambs. Animal Production. 40: 315–322.Google Scholar
Croston, D., Kempster, A. J., Guy, D. R. and Jones, D. W. 1987. Carcass composition of crossbred lambs by ten sire breeds compared at the same carcass subcutaneous fat proportion. Animal Production. 44: 99–106.Google Scholar
Kempster, A. J. 1980. Fat partition and distribution in the carcasses of cattle, sheep and pigs: a review. Meat Science. 5: 83–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kempster, A. J. 1981. The indirect evaluation of sheep carcass composition in breeding schemes, population studies and experiments. Livestock Production Science. 8: 263–271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kempster, A. J., Croston, D., Guy, D. R. and Jones, D. W. 1987. Growth and carcass characteristics of crossbred lambs by ten sire breeds, compared at the same estimated carcass subcutaneous fat proportion. Animal Production. 44: 83–98.Google Scholar
Kempster, A. J. and Cuthbertson, A. 1977. A survey of the carcass characteristics of the main types of British lamb. Animal Production 25: 165–180.Google Scholar
More O'Ferrall, G. J. and Timon, V. M. 1977a. A comparison of eight sire breeds for lamb production. 1. Lamb growth and carcass measurements. Irish Journal of Agricultural Research. 16: 267–275.Google Scholar
More O'Ferrall, G. J. and Timon, V. M. 1977b. A comparison of eight sire breeds for lamb production. 2. Lamb carcass composition. Irish Journal of Agricultural Research. 16: 277–284.Google Scholar
Palsson, H. 1940. Meat qualities in the sheep with special reference to Scottish breeds and crosses. III. Comparative development of selected individuals of different breeds and crosses as lambs and hoggets. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge. 30: 1–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teixeira, A. 1984. Avaliaçāo das carcaças de borregos do étnico Churro Galego Bragançano e seu cruzamento com a raça Milchschaf. [Lamb carcass evaluation of Galego Bragancano and its cross with Milchschaf breed]. Relatório de estágio do curso de Engenharia Zootécnica da UTAD-Vila Real.Google Scholar
Teixeira, A. and Delfa, R. 1993. Sheep consumer preferences and commercial classification in the mediterranean area of the european community. Proceedings of the 44th annual meeting of the European Association for Animal Production, Aarhus, vol. II, pp. 134–135 (abstr.).Google Scholar
Wolf, B. T., Smith, C. and Sales, D. I. 1980. Growth and carcass composition in the crossbred progeny of six terminal sire breeds of sheep. Animal Production. 31: 307–313.Google Scholar
Wood, J. D., MacFie, H. J. H., Pomeroy, R. W. and Twinn, D. J. 1980. Carcass composition in four sheep breeds: the importance of type of breed and stage of maturity. Animal Production. 30: 135–152.Google Scholar