Slaughter weights on animal performance, carcass commercial cuts and meat characteristics of cull cows

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of slaughter weight on animal performance, carcass commercial cuts and meat characteristics of Purunã cows feedlot finished. We used 28 cull cows with 68.02±17.36 months of age slaughtered at different weights (461, 476, 434 and 522 kg). The experimental design was completely randomized with four treatments (slaughter weight) and seven replicates (animals). The dry matter intake, expressed as kg d -1 and % of body weight, presented quadratic variation with increasing slaughter weight, with the highest values observed for slaughter weight of 461 kg. The average daily gain decreased linearly, whereas the absolute weight of forequarter, short ribs, and pistol cut linearly increased by the advance of slaughter weight. In relative terms only the short ribs was changed by increase slaughter weight, increasing linearly. Between the proportions of meat cuts prepared for commercialization, linear increases were observed for the chuck and striploin. Increasing slaughter weight promoted linear increases in the scores of color, marbling and palatability, but did not alter the score of tenderness of the meat. The increase of slaughter weight of cull cows of the Purunã breed reduces animal performance, increasing the losses by trimming fat, with important benefits only for the meat palatability. Key words: Fat trimming, meat tenderness, pistol cut, short ribs, weight gain ResumoObjetivou-se avaliar o efeito do peso de abate sobre o desempenho animal, cortes comerciais da carcaça e características da carne de vacas Purunã terminadas em confinamento. Foram utilizadas 28 vacas de descarte com 68,02±17,36 meses de idade abatidas com pesos distintos (434; 461; 476 e 522 kg). O

Performance and fatty acid profile of Holstein calves slaughtered at different weights

“…The finishing time of animals ranged from 111.9 to 176.3 days and was linearly correlated with increasing slaughter weight, and the increase in average daily weight gain was not sufficient to reduce the finishing time. The increase in average daily weight gain relative to animal live weight observed in this study is generally not seen in bulls and cows (Costa et al, 2002a;Andreotti et al, 2015;Missio et al, 2015). The reduction in daily weight gain typical of older animals is primarily due to the higher energy demands of physiological maintenance and by the greater energy demand related to the composition of the weight gained.…”

“…The increase in animal performance with the increase in slaughter weight is due to the increase in DM and nutrient intake of the animals and a corresponding rise in their ingestive capacity. Some researchers (Costa et al, 2002a;Missio et al, 2015) reported a reduction in DM intake with increasing slaughter weight, and NRC (2000) reported that reductions in feed intake as live weight increases is associated with leptin activity and indicates the presence of higher body fat deposition; however, the animals tested in those studies were slaughtered at a later degree of finishing, unlike in the present study. We observed that differences in daily weight gain ceased to exist when expressed as a percentage of live weight, demonstrating that the increasing intake was due to the larger size of the animals.…”

Physical composition of carcass, commercial cuts and meat characteristics of young bulls fed millet-based diets containing increased crude glycerin levels

“…These results, however, demonstrate that sexual dimorphism is not a decisive factor in variation of the carcass physical composition. This might be explained by the observation that the forequarter showed a constant relationship between the weights of the edible portion (muscle + fat) and the bone tissue with the change in body weight, unlike what occurs with the pistol cut and short ribs as demonstrated by Missio et al (2015). It is noteworthy that unlike what was observed in this study, Van Cleef et al (2014) did not find alterations in the commercial prime cuts of the carcass of Nellore young bulls fed with different levels of dietary crude glycerin.…”

Bodyweight performance, estimated carcass traits and methane emissions of beef-cattle categories grazing Andropogon gayanus, Melinis minutiflora and Stylosanthes capitata mixed swards and Brachiaria humidicola pasture

“…In this context, extensive cow-calf herds typically include 50% of females, made up of empty dry cows (cull cows; 8-12 years of age) and heifers 1-3 years of age (Kleinheisterkamp and Habich 1985;Missio et al 2015). The scale is the product of replacement rates of 15-20% per year that is augmented by heifers not needed for replacement of cull breeders.…”