Effect of quantitative feed restriction and sex class on sheep skin quality

• Published in: Tropical animal health and production 2024-06, Vol.56 (5), p.189, Article 189
• Main Authors: de Brito, Anna Neusa Eduarda Ferreira, de Souza Rodrigues, Rafael Torres, Gois, Glayciane Costa, da Silva, Ivonete Ferreira, da Silva, José Gledyson, Simão, Joanigo Fernando, Chizzotti, Mario Luiz, Araújo, Nataline Silva, Menezes, Daniel Ribeiro, Soares, Mariliz Gutterres, Queiroz, Mário Adriano Ávila
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal Feed - analysis; Animals; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Body weight; Dietary restrictions; Elongation; Energy balance; Feeds; Female; Food Deprivation - physiology; Leather; Life Sciences; Male; Males; Mechanical tests; Orchiectomy - veterinary; Regular Articles; Rupture; Sex; Sex Factors; Sheep; Sheep - growth & development; Sheep - physiology; Sheep, Domestic - growth & development; Sheep, Domestic - physiology; Skin; Tear strength; Tearing; Thickness; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Zoology
• ISSN: 0049-4747; 1573-7438; 1573-7438
• DOI: 10.1007/s11250-024-04048-1

The aim was to evaluate the quality of the sheep skin of different sex classes submitted to different levels of feed restriction. Sheep without defined racial pattern of different sex classes (15 non-castrated males, 15 castrated males and 15 females), with initial body weight of 18.1 ± 0.4 kg and mean age of 90 days were distributed in a factorial 3 × 3, with three sex classes and 3 levels of feed restriction (ad libitum intake and restricted intake at 70 and 80%), with 5 repetitions. After slaughter, the skins were collected for physical–mechanical tests. The effect of the sex classes x levels of dietary restriction interaction was observed for transverse thickness and longitudinal rupture elongation ( p