Animal performance and carcass characteristics of growing Hereford bulls under insulated, uninsulated and outdoor housing conditions in Northern Finland

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The objective of the present study was to compare the colour, chemical composition, meat quality and fatty acid profile of the longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle of growing bulls housed in an insulated tie-stall, an uninsulated barn or a forest paddock. Two housing experiments were conducted at the North Ostrobothnia Research Station of MTT Agrifood Research Finland in Ruukki (64°44N, 25°15E). The first experiment was conducted from November 1999 to October 2000 and comprised 30 Hereford bulls, the second from November 2000 to December 2001 with 30 Ayrshire bulls. In both experiments the bulls were divided into six groups of five animals according to live weight and the groups were randomly allotted to one of three treatments: tie-stall in an insulated barn (IB bulls, ten animals/individual stall), uninsulated barn (UB bulls, five animals/pen, two pens) and forest paddock (PAD bulls, five animals/paddock, two paddocks). Nine carcasses from experiment 1 (three/treatment) and twelve from experiment 2 (four/treatment) were randomly selected for meat quality analyses. After slaughter, the carcasses were cooled for 24h at 2 °C and LD samples were taken by complete cross-section between the 12th and 13th ribs. The results were calculated across the two experiments and analysed as one data. There were no differences between housing environments in temperature or pH of the LD or meat moisture, fat or protein composition of the LD. Instead, the myoglobin content of the LD was 21% higher in PAD bulls than in IB bulls (p < 0.05). Between IB and UB bulls there was no difference in meat myoglobin content and there were no significant (p < 0.05) differences between housing environments in the colour of the LD. However, the muscle tended to be 6% lighter (L-value) in IB bulls than in PAD bulls (p = 0.09). There were no significant differences in shear force or sensory analysis (tenderness, juiciness, overall flavour) between treatments. The LD of the PAD bulls contained a higher proportion of 18:2 and 18:3 fatty acids compared to that of IB bulls (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the saturated fatty acid (SFA) or monounsaturated fatty acid proportions of the LD between treatments. Instead, the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) proportion of the LD was 34% higher in PAD bulls than in IB bulls (p < 0.05). The PUFA:SFA ratio was higher in PAD bulls than in IB bulls (p < 0.05) but there was no difference in the PUFA:SFA ratio between UB and IB bulls. In conclusion, there were no important effects of housing system on the meat quality characteristics of the LD, although according to meat fatty acid profiles, outdoor housed bulls produced meat with a higher PUFA:SFA ratio than tethered bulls in an insulated barn.;

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Section: Animals and Housing Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Meat quality and fatty acid profile of M. longissimus dorsi of growing bulls under insulated, uninsulated and outdoor housing conditions

Huuskonen¹,

Joki‐Tokola²,

Honkavaara³

2008

Self Cite

“…The estimated rate of carcass gain was calculated as the difference between the final carcass weight and the carcass weight in the beginning of the experiment divided by the number of growing days. Carcass weight in the beginning of the experiment was assumed to be 0.50 × initial LW, which was used also in studies by Root and Huhtanen (1998) and Huuskonen et al (2009) and which was assessed based on earlier studies (unpublished data).…”

Section: Animals Housing and Feedingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of breed on production, carcass traits and meat quality of Aberdeen Angus, Limousin and Aberdeen Angus×Limousin bulls offered a grass silage-grain-based diet

Pesonen

Honkavaara

Huuskonen

2012

The objective of the experiment was to study the performance, carcass traits and meat quality of purebred Aberdeen Angus (Ab) and Limousin (Li) bulls and Ab×Li crossbred bulls offered grass silage-grain-based rations and raised to heavy carcass weights. The experiment included eight bulls in all breed groups. The average slaughter age for all breeds was 540 days and the mean carcass weights for the Ab, Ab×Li and Li bulls were 391, 399 and 439 kg, respectively. Significant breed differences in carcass traits and meat quality were observed. The Limousin bulls tended to achieve a higher conformation score, produced less fat and had a higher percentage of valuable cuts compared with the Aberdeen Angus bulls. The crossbred Ab×Li bulls produced better conformed carcasses and a higher share of the rounds compared to the pure Ab bulls which indicate that this type of crossbreeding can enhance beef production under the studied conditions.

“…The live weight gain (LWG) was calculated as the difference between the means of initial and final weights. The estimated rate of carcass gain was calculated by assuming an initial carcass weight of 0.50 of initial LW which was used also in previous studies by Huuskonen et al (2007bHuuskonen et al ( , 2008Huuskonen et al ( , 2009. After slaughter in a commercial meat plant carcasses were weighed hot.…”

Section: Calculations and Carcass Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance of growing dairy bulls offered diets based on silages made of whole-crop barley, whole-crop wheat, hairy vetch and grass

Huuskonen¹,

Joki‐Tokola²

2008

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The present experiment was conducted to study diet digestibility, feed intake, animal performance and carcass characteristics of growing dairy bulls offered diets based on whole-crop barley, a mixture of whole-crop barley and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth.) or a mixture of whole-crop wheat and hairy vetch relative to moderate digestible grass silage-based diet. The feeding experiment with 24 Finnish Ayrshire and 8 HolsteinFriesian bulls included 4 forage feeding treatments: grass silage (G), whole-crop barley and hairy vetch mixture silage (BHV), whole-crop wheat and hairy vetch mixture silage (WHV) and whole-crop barley silage (B). In all treatments animals were offered silage ad libitum. The amount of concentrate supplementation was 36 g (W 0.75 ) -1 per animal per day for all treatments. The concentrate ration included rolled barley and rapeseed meal. Differences between the treatments were compared using an a priori test (Dunnett's test) so that comparison of the diets was based on the G diet. The animals were fed the experimental diets from day 240 to finish at day 505 of age. During the experiment the average concentrate proportions of G, BHV, WHV and B diets were 437, 424, 426 and 423 g dry matter (DM) (kg DM) -1 , respectively. There were no significant differences in silage DM intake or in the total DM intake (DMI) (kg DM d -1 ) between treatments. However, DMI kg -1 W 0.75 tended to be 3.5% higher (p = 0.09) in the B diet than in the G diet. Due to increasing energy intake, the gain of the bulls was higher with the G diet than with the WHV diet (p < 0.05). BHV and B diets did not differ from the G diet in gain. Treatments had no significant effect on the dressing proportion or carcass conformation. The carcass fat score of WHV bulls was 29% lower (p < 0.05) than that of the G bulls, but BHV and B diets did not differ from the G diet in carcass fatness. The feed conversion rate (DM intake kg -1 carcass gain) of the bulls was better (p < 0.001) and protein conversion (g AAT kg -1 carcass gain) tended to be better (p = 0.07) with the G diet than with the WHV diet. BHV and B diets did not differ from the G diet in any feed conversion parameters. It can be concluded that replacing moderate digestible grass silage with whole-crop wheat and hairy vetch mixture silage decreased the carcass gain of growing dairy bulls due to lower energy intake and poorer feed conversion. Instead, replacing moderate digestible grass silage with whole-crop barley or with whole-crop barley and hairy vetch mixture silage resulted in no differences in the performance or carcass characteristics parameters of growing dairy bulls.