A Comparison of Carcass Chemical COmposition of Najdi and Naeimi Ram Lambs Slaughtered at 50kg Body Weight PDF

Keywords

ram lambs, Najdi breed, Naeimi breed

Abstract

Fifteen ram lambs from each of Najdi and Naeimi sheep breeds were slaughtered at 50 kg live weight. The objective was to examine the effect of breed on the chemical composition of the carcasses and the distribution of various chemical constituents in wholesale cuts. The results showed the the differences between boneless weights for each of leg, loin, shoulder and breast cuts from Najdi and Naeimi were not statistically different. Najdi carcasses had heavier (p< 0.01) rack and flank cuts than those of Naeimi. However, in each cut, Najdi contained more (p<0.01) separable and chemical fats and correspondingly less ash and moisture contents than that of Naeimi. On the other hand, Najdi and Naeimi had similar amounts of protein in each studied boneless wholesale cut. In general, the flank cut had a higher (p<0.01) percentage separable fat and lower percentages of chemical fat, protein, ash and moisture than the other cuts. On the contrary, the shoulder cut had the lowest percentage separable fat and the highest (p<0.01) percentage moisture compared to the other cuts. The R2 values for the best equations for prediction of various chemical compositions of Najdi and Naeimi whole carcasses ranged from 0.43 to 0.72 and from 0.56 to 0.98, respectively.