Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T21:43:31.847Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The partition of body fat in British Friesian and Jersey steers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

B. W. Butler-Hogg
Affiliation:
Animal Physiology Division, ARC Meat Research Institute, Langford, Bristol BS18 7DY
J. D. Wood
Affiliation:
Animal Physiology Division, ARC Meat Research Institute, Langford, Bristol BS18 7DY
Get access

Abstract

Ninety-two British Friesians and 62 Jersey castrated male cattle were slaughtered serially in five age groups at 13, 89, 170, 339 and 507 days, and dissected fully into lean, bone, intermuscular fat, subcutaneous fat, perirenal-retroperitoneal fat (kidney knob and channel fat), omental fat and mesenteric fat. The aim was to investigate the partition of body fat in these dairy breeds and the role of the partition of fat in determining carcass value.

Relative to live weight, Friesians had more lean, subcutaneous fat and carcass fat (subcutaneous and intermuscular) at most ages, and Jerseys had more kidney knob and channel fat, and intra-abdominal fat. Friesians had a higher killing-out proportion and lean:bone ratio, and thicker subcutaneous fat.

The order of increasing relative growth of fat depots with total body fat as the independent variable was, for Friesians: intermuscular < mesenteric < kidney knob and channel fat < subcutaneous < omental. In Jerseys the order was: intermuscular < mesenteric < subcutaneous < kidney knob and channel fat < omental. There were only small breed differences in the distribution of subcutaneous fat between eight regions. t I is suggested that, between breeds, there is a physiological link between the capacity for milk-fat production and the partition of fat within the body, with relatively high milk-fat producers depositing proportionately more fat intra-abdominally.

Since the timing of slaughter is often determined by level of external finish in beef production, the breed difference in the partition of fat, which caused Jerseys to have a higher proportion of kidney knob and channel fat, and intermuscular fat, at the same proportion of subcutaneous fat, would reduce carcass value in Jerseys compared with Friesians.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1982

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

REFERENCES

Berg, R. T., Andersen, B. B. and Liboriussen, T. 1978. Growth of bovine tissues. 1. Genetic influences on growth patterns of muscle, fat and bone in young bulls. Anim. Prod. 26: 245258.Google Scholar
Bowman, J. C. and Jollans, J. L. 1980. The future strategy for milk production. Anim. Prod. 30: 476 (Abstr.).Google Scholar
Broad, T. E. and Ulyatt, M. J. 1980. The effect of level of food intake on the incorporation of acetate into lipids and its distribution among various tissues in sheep. Br. J. Nutr. 44: 7179.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, A. J. and Williams, D. R. 1980. Beef carcas s evaluation—measurement of composition using a standardized butchery method. Memo. Meat Res. Inst., No. 46.Google Scholar
Brown, A. J. and Williams, D. R. 1981. Beef carcass evaluation—measurement of composition using anatomical dissection. Memo. Meat Res. Inst., No. 47.Google Scholar
Butterfield, R. M. 1963. Estimation of carcass composition: the anatomical approach. In Carcass Composition and Appraisal of Meat Animals (ed. Tribe, D. E.) CSIRO, Melbourne.Google Scholar
Carter, A. H. 1969. Comparative growth performance of Jersey, Friesian and Ayrshire bulls on pasture. Proc. N.Z. Soc. Anim. Prod. 29: 5462.Google Scholar
Centre for Agricultural Strategy. 1978. Strategy for the UK dairy industry. Rep. Centre Agric. Strategy, 4. Centre for Agricultural Strategy, Reading.Google Scholar
Christie, W. W. 1979. The effects of diet and other factors on the lipid composition of ruminant tissues and milk. Prog. Lipid Res. 17: 245277.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cole, J. W., Ramsey, C. B., Hobbs, C. S. and Temple, R. S. 1964. Effects of type and breed of British, Zebu, and dairy cattle on production, carcass composition and palatability. J. Dairy Sci. 47: 11381144.Google Scholar
Cowan, R. T., Robinson, J. J., McDonald, I. and Smart, R. 1980. Effects of body fatness at lambing and diet in lactation on body tissue loss, feed intake and milk yield of ewes in early lactation. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 95: 497514.Google Scholar
Hales, J. R. S., Bennett, J. W. and Fawcett, A. A. 1976. Effects of acute cold exposur e o n the distribution of cardiac output in the sheep. Pflugers Arch. Eur. J. Physiol. 366: 153157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hind, E. 1978. Efficiency of lean meat production by British Friesian and Jersey steers. Anim. Prod. 27: 181189.Google Scholar
Kempster, A. J. 1981. Fat partition and distribution in the carcasses of cattle, sheep and pigs: a review. Meat Sci. 5: 8398.Google Scholar
Kempster, A. J., Avis, P. R. D. and Smith, R. J. 1976. Fat distribution in steer carcasses of different breeds and crosses. 2. Distribution between joints. Anim. Prod. 23: 223232.Google Scholar
Kempster, A. J., Cuthbertson, A. and Harrington, G. 1976. Fat distribution in steer carcasses of different breeds and crosses. 1. Distribution between depots. Anim. Prod. 23: 2534.Google Scholar
Leche, T. F. 1971. Growth and feed conversion of Jersey and Friesian bulls in relation to plane of nutrition. Aust. J. agric. Res. 22: 829838.Google Scholar
Milk Marketing Board. 1980. National Milk Records for the year ended September, 1979. Area 2, p. 26.Google Scholar
Monteiro, L. S. 1974. Food efficiency in cattle. Rep. Anim. Breed. Res. Orgn, pp. 4046.Google Scholar
Pomeroy, R. W. and Williams, D. R. 1974. The partition of fat in the bovine carcass. Proc. Br. Soc. Anim. Prod. (New Ser.) 3: 85 (Abstr.).Google Scholar
Pomeroy, R. W., Williams, D. R., Harries, J. M. and Ryan, P. O. 1974. Composition of beef carcasses. I. Material, measurements, jointing and tissue separation. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 83: 6777.Google Scholar
Prior, R. L. 1978. Effect of level of feed intake on lactate and acetate metabolism and lipogenesis in vivo in sheep. J. Nutr. 108: 926935.Google Scholar
Seebeck, R. M. and Tulloh, N. M. 1968. Developmenta l growth and body weight loss of cattle. III. Dissected components of the commercially dressed carcass, following anatomical boundaries. Aust. J. agric. Res. 19: 673688.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, St C. S. 1968. Time taken to mature in relation to mature weight for sexes, strains and species of domesticated mammals and birds. Anim. Prod. 10: 157169.Google Scholar
Taylor, St C. S. 1980. Live-weight growth from embryo to adult in domesticated mammals. Anim. Prod. 31: 223235.Google Scholar
Truscott, T. G. 1980. Growth, body composition and tissue distribution. Ph.D. Thesis, Fac. Vet. Sci., Univ. Bristol.Google Scholar
Williams, D. R. 1978. Partition and distribution of fatty tissues. In Patterns of Growth and Development in Cattle (ed. Boer, H. De and Martin, J.), Current Topics in Veterinary Medicine, Vol. 2, pp. 219229. Nijhoff, The Hague.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, J. D., MacFie, H. J. H., Pomeroy, R. W. and Twinn, D. J. 1980. Carcass composition in four sheep breeds: th e importance of type of breed and stage of maturity. Anim. Prod. 30: 135152.Google Scholar