Effects of drinking saline water on carcass traits and meat quality of growing and mature Blackhead Ogaden sheep and Somali goats

• Published in: Tropical animal health and production 2024-11, Vol.56 (8), p.300, Article 300
• Main Authors: Abera, Fitsum, Urge, Mengistu, Yirga, Hirut, Yousuf, Yishak
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age groups; Animals; Arid regions; Arid zones; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Body weight; Carcasses; Climate change; Design factors; Drinking water; Drinking Water - analysis; Ethiopia; Goats; Goats - growth & development; Goats - physiology; Life Sciences; Livestock; Livestock production; Male; Meat; Meat - analysis; Meat quality; Regular Articles; Saline water; Salinity; Salinity effects; Sensory evaluation; Sensory perception; Shear forces; Sheep; Sheep - growth & development; Sheep - physiology; Sheep, Domestic - growth & development; Sheep, Domestic - physiology; Sodium chloride; Sodium Chloride - administration & dosage; Sodium Chloride - analysis; Sodium Chloride - pharmacology; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Water quality; Water salinity; Water treatment; Zoology
• ISSN: 0049-4747; 1573-7438; 1573-7438
• DOI: 10.1007/s11250-024-04141-5

   Water salinity has a significant impact on water quality, posing challenges for livestock production and productivity, particularly in arid regions where climate change affects freshwater availability. This study aimed to determine the effect of drinking saline water on the carcass and meat quality traits of sheep and goats in Ethiopia. A total of 100 males with an average initial body weight of growing (18.17 ± 0.51) and mature (22.22 ± 0.52 kg) Blackhead Ogaden sheep and growing (17.99 ± 0.50) and mature (21.99 ± 0.54) kg) Somali goats were used. The design of the experiment was a three-way factorial RCBD with three-factor combinations (5 treatment levels, 2 species, and 2 age groups).Water treatments were natural water (Lake Basaka water (control), low saline water (L-SW), moderate saline water (M-SW), high saline water (H-SW), and very high saline water (VH-SW); that is, NaCl was added to natural water at concentrations of 7.95, 11.93, 15.90, and 19.88 g TDS/L, respectively. The finding showed that increasing salinity levels in drinking water reduced slaughter body weight (SBW), carcass weight (CW), dressing percentage (DP), rib eye area (RAE), total edible components (TEC), and increased total non-edible components (TNEC) ( P