Live animal and carcass characteristics of South African indigenous goats

Abstract

Eighty-nine intact male, castrates and female South African indigenous goats in three age groups (0, 2 -6 and 8 permanent incisors) and two pre-slaughter conditioning groups; namely, the non-conditioned which were slaughtered within three months of purchase and the pre-slaughter conditioned, which were slaughtered 6 -10 months after purchase or birth were used. The effect of sex, age and pre-slaughter conditioning on live animal, carcass dimensions and carcass composition were evaluated. The goats were large with live weight, carcass weight and carcass dimensions in the range of the large breeds of southern Africa. They had a high lean and low fat content. Intact males were suited for high chevon yield because they were heavy, had a high lean and low fat content, and losses during dressing and chilling were reduced by improved nutrition. Goats between 2 -6 teeth yielded heavy carcasses that were comparable to goats in the 8-teeth group, and had proportionately more lean and less carcass fat. The hind limb was ideal for high lean and low fat, high value cuts but the dorsal trunk was bony and yielded less lean. Pre-slaughter conditioning improved the overall size of the goats and reduced the losses during slaughter and chilling. It also improved the lean/bone and lean and fat/bone indices. _______________________________________________________________________________________

Effect of finishing system on carcass characteristics and composition of Mubende goats and their Boer goat crossbreds

“…It should be noted that tissue distribution in both genotypes studied averaged at 70% lean, 17% bone and 13% fat. These values are within ranges reported for South African indigenous goats and other goat breeds (Devendra & Owen, 1983, Simela et al, 2011. These results show that the indigenous Mubende goat has a high meat production potential and compares with its Boer crossbreds, one of the world's goat meat producing breeds.…”

“…Traits such as lean: bone ratio, confirmation, morphological measurements and the distribution of fat within the carcass are of great importance in meat production (Chacón et al, 2011;Simela et al, 2011). In Uganda, goat meat production relies on local, indigenous herds raised under traditional production systems.…”

Carcass and meat quality of Boer and indigenous goats of South Africa under delayed chilling conditions

“…Similarly, Kadim et al (2006), in their study with three Omani goat breeds, reported that the Jabal Akhdar goat breed had higher carcass weight and hence higher chilling loss (shrinkage) compared with the Dhofari and Jabal Akhdar breeds. Overall, the chilling loss for this study was marginally higher than 3%, which is usually estimated for goat carcasses (Webb et al, 2005, Simela et al, 2011.…”

Carcass characteristics and instrumental meat quality of suckling kids and lambs

“…The proportion of high value cuts is also an important indication of the overall value of the carcass. Carcasses attributes are principally concerned with the quantity of saleable meat that can be obtained, but also have significant implications on the technological properties of the meat, such as pH, colour and tenderness (Simela et al, 2011).Some studies have indicated that carcass quality can differ significantly among breeds, particularly among light lambs, but to some extent differences depend on the criteria used in comparisons (same weight, same age, or same proportion of mature weight). However, breed is much less important in lamb meat quality than other factors (Santos Sylva et al, 2002;Martínez-Cerezo et al, 2005;Pérez et al, 2007;Miguélez et al, 2006).…”