Effect of Breed Types and Castration on Carcass Characteristics of Boer and Large Frame Indigenous Veld Goats of Southern Africa

Weaner male Boer Goats (BG; n = 36; 21 bucks and 15 wethers) and large frame Indigenous Veld Goats (IVG; n = 41; 21 bucks and 20 wethers) were raised on hay and natural grass ad libitum and the recommended amount of commercial pelleted diet to a live weight between 30 and 35 kg. Carcass quality char...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Animals (Basel) 2020-10, Vol.10 (10), p.1884
Main Authors: van Wyk, Gertruida L., Hoffman, Louwrens C., Strydom, Phillip E., Frylinck, Lorinda
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural research
Animals
Carcasses
Castration
Farmers
Goats
grazing and supplementary feeding
Kidneys
lean meat
Meat
Meat production
Muscles
Parasitic diseases
Physiological aspects
Sheep
slaughter characteristics
Small farms
Species diversity
yield
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Summary:Weaner male Boer Goats (BG; n = 36; 21 bucks and 15 wethers) and large frame Indigenous Veld Goats (IVG; n = 41; 21 bucks and 20 wethers) were raised on hay and natural grass ad libitum and the recommended amount of commercial pelleted diet to a live weight between 30 and 35 kg. Carcass quality characteristics (live weight, carcass weights, dressing %, chilling loss and eye muscle area) were measured. The right sides of the carcasses were divided into wholesale cuts and dissected into subcutaneous fat, meat and bone. Large frame Indigenous Veld Goat (IVG) wethers were slightly lighter than the IVG bucks with no significant difference observed between BG. Wethers compared to bucks had higher dressing %, subcutaneous fat % in all primal cuts, intramuscular fat %, kidney fat % and, overall, slightly less bone %. Some breed–wether interactions were noticed: IVG wethers were slightly lighter than the IVG bucks, but the IVG bucks tended to produce higher % meat compared to other test groups. Judged on the intramuscular fat % characteristics, it seems as if wethers should produce juicier and more flavorsome meat compared to bucks.
ISSN:2076-2615
2076-2615
DOI:10.3390/ani10101884