Carcass yield traits of kids from a complete diallel of Boer, Kiko, and Spanish meat goat breeds semi-intensively managed on humid subtropical pasture1,2

Abstract

Bucklings (n = 275) from a complete diallel of Boer, Kiko, and Spanish meat goats were slaughtered at 7 mo of age (4 mo postweaning) to evaluate genetic effects on carcass yield. Breed of sire did not affect (P > 0.05) live, carcass, and primal weights. Conversely, breed of dam was a consistently significant source of variation for carcass weight traits. Kiko dams produced kids with heavier (P < 0.05) live, carcass, and primal weights than Boer dams. Weights from Spanish dams were intermediate to Boer and Kiko with the significance of differences varying by trait. Cold carcass dressing percent was affected (P < 0.01) by breeds of sire and dam. Boer sires decreased (P < 0.05) dressing percent compared with Kiko and Spanish sires. Dressing percent was also less (P < 0.01) from Boer dams than from Kiko dams; Spanish dams were intermediate and did not differ (P > 0.05) from Boer or Kiko. Subjective conformation scores for muscularity were affected (P < 0.01) by breeds of sire and dam. Boer-sired kids had better (P < 0.01) live scores than Kiko-sired kids. Progeny of Boer dams had better (P < 0.05) live scores than progeny of Spanish dams. Boer-sired kids also had better carcass scores (P < 0.05) than Kiko-sired and Spanish-sired kids. Breed differences for primal cut proportions were negligible. Proportional boneless meat yields did not vary (P > 0.05) by breeds of sire or dam. Direct effects of Boer were negative for carcass weight, dressing percent, and shoulder weight and positive for proportional leg weight. Direct effects of Kiko were positive for carcass weight and shoulder weight and negative for proportional leg weight. Direct effects of Spanish did not differ (P > 0.10) from 0 for any trait tested. Heterosis levels were similar among breed pairings. Heterosis was substantial (P ≤ 0.05) for live, carcass, and primal weights (5 to 9%) but not for dressing percent, proportional boneless meat yield, or primal weight proportions (<2%). Significant genetic variation was observed among goat breeds for carcass yield traits. Dam breed was more influential than sire breed. Boer germplasm was not superior to Kiko or Spanish germplasm for carcass yield when semi-intensively managed on humid, subtropical pasture. Results emphasize the importance of comparative breed evaluations to provide industry with reliable information on carcass yield among goat genotypes.

Terminal Crossbreeding of Murciano-Granadina Goats with Boer Bucks: Characteristics of the Carcass and the Meat

“…The good body morphology of Boer kids for meat production has also been highlighted by numerous authors [ 9 , 10 , 19 , 39 , 40 ], but with heavier kids than those used in the present experiment. For example, Browning et al [ 10 ] carried out a complete diallel crossbreeding of the Boer, Kiko and Spanish breeds and found that the best morphological conformation scores, both in live animals (25–26 kg) and in carcasses (10.1–10.8 kg), were assigned to the descendants of Boer males. The descendants of Boer females also received the best rating in live animals, although this did not translate into a better carcass conformation score.…”

“…An alternative used to improve meat production in goats consists of crossing the local breed with Boer males, which is a breed that enjoys worldwide recognition for its excellent body conformation, rapid growth rate and good carcass quality [ 9 ]. In some large breeds, such as the Kiko, crossing with the Boer breed does not improve the growth of kids [ 10 ], but in the MG breed, Pérez-Baena et al [ 7 ] showed that crossbreeding improved birth weight, the survival of offspring and the growth and conversion rates of kids during lactation, so production costs are reduced. Consequently, these authors considered the crossbreeding of MG females with Boer males to be of interest for the production of suckling kids.…”

Effect of varying dietary energy to protein ratio in creep feed on feed intake, growth performance and nutrient digestibility of pre-weaning Boer goats.

“…Under good pastoral conditions, growth rate of 0.240, 0.238, and 0.218 kg/day were recorded for single, twin, and triplets Boer kids raised in Namibia, respectively (Barry & Godke, 1997). Meanwhile, the ADG of Boer kids in pre-weaning was 116.9 g/day as reported by Browning and Leite-Browning (2011).…”

Effects of creep feeding and its interactions with other factors on the performance of meat goat kids and dams when managed on pasture

“…Myotonic- and Savanna-sired kids had better ( P < 0.05) conformation scores than Kiko-sired kids ( Table 4 ). Previous work indicated that the Boer influence improved the conformation scores of kids when harvested at 7 mo of age compared with the Kiko and Spanish influence but did not improve objective measures of carcass yield ( Browning et al, 2012 ). Savanna and Boer are similar breeds from South Africa and it seems that they similarly improve subjective kid conformation scores.…”