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Carcass composition in lambs of greek dairy breeds of sheep at different degrees of maturity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2017

D. Zygoyiannis
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece
C. Stamataris
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece
N. Katsaounis
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece
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Extract

The indigenous sheep breeds of Greece, which are used mainly for milk production, produce lambs which are killed at weaning to provide carcasses (including the head, pluck, liver, spleen and the omental and mesenteric fat) of 5 to 9 Kg. The production of heavier carcases could be of benefit if they are acceptable to consumers and if they could be economically produced. The purpose of this experiment was to characterise the growth and development of the entire males and females of three Greek breeds under conditions presumed to be non-limiting.

Animals. From each of three breeds, Boutsiko (B), Serres (S) and Karagouniko (K), 20 lambs of each sex were used in a serial slaughter experiment. Four animals of each breed/sex combination were killed at live weights which were 25, 35, 50, 70 and 100% of the estimated mature values. All sheep were weaned at 6 weeks of age and the males were entire.

Type
Small Ruminant Production
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1993

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