engleski

Influence of sex and the slaughtering season on water-holding capacity and carcass composition in Istrian lambs

The aim of this study was to determine influence of sex and slaughtering season on water-holding capacity and carcass composition in Istrian lambs, raised in a traditional farming system in the Istrian region. The study was carried out on a total of 32 lambs (16 males and 16 females) of Istrian breed, raised on a family farm, during the slaughtering season in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Female lambs had a significantly higher cooking loss (P≤0.05) and proportion of loin-rib (P≤0.05), while male lambs had a significantly higher head proportion(P≤0.05). Regarding tissue composition, it was found that in the loin-rib, female lambs had significantly higher fat content (P≤0.05) and lower muscle content (P≤0.05) than males. Slaughtering season significantly affected proportions of neck (P≤0.001), shoulder (P≤0.05), anterior rib (P≤0.001), loin-rib (P≤0.001), breast (P≤0.001), hind leg (P≤0.05) and kidney knob (P≤0.05). Furthermore, slaughtering season significantly affected (P≤0.05) the composition of individual cuts, i.e. muscle proportion in the neck, loin-rib, breast and hind leg, bone proportion in the neck, shoulder, anterior rib and hind leg, and fat proportion in all cuts. The results of this study indicated that male and female Istrian lambs, reared under similar conditions, had very similar expression of the investigated traits. Slaughtering season affected most of the traits related to carcass composition. In order to provide more uniform carcasses on the market, it is necessary to ensure similar quality of feeds during the unfavourable seasons.

carcass composition; lambs; season; sex; water-holding capacity

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