The present work describes the effect of nutritive level on horse carcass traits and on meat quality. Eighteen male Italian Heavy Draught Horse (IHDH) breed foals were employed in the study. Soon after foaling they were randomly subdivided into three groups according to three nutritive level classes: 150%, 180% and 200% of maintenance requirements. Live weight, hot carcass weight and dressing p...

Least squares means, genetic ( ug), and phenotypic ( up) standard deviations, and phenotypic coefficients of variation ( C V ) were estimated on an age-constant basis for growth, carcass, and meat traits of castrate males from 12 breed groups combined, for 9 purebreds combined, and for the F 3 generation of three composite populations combined to which the nine purebreds contributed. Also, heri...

Yearling steers were fed corn-based diets supplemented with urea or soybean meal plus urea, and none, 2%, or 4% fat. All steers were implanted with Revalor-S and fed for 118 days. Adding fat did not improve performance of the steers in the feedlot or improve carcass characteristics. Feeding soybean meal increased rate of gain, improved feed efficiency, increased carcass weight, and tended to im...

Chianina is the tallest and heaviest beef cattle breed in the world and 1 of the most appreciated breeds on the Italian meat market. A selection program focused on improving Chianina carcass quality could provide a further economic advantage to Chianina breeders. However, the current European carcass scoring system [i.e., the SEUROP (S=superior, E=excellent, U= very good, R=good, O=fair, and P=...

Approximately 4,000 yearling heifers (initial BW = 306 ± 1.9 kg) were randomly allotted into 4 treatment groups to determine the effect of melengestrol acetate (MGA) on feedlot performance and carcass parameters. Treatments included a diet containing monensin (Rumensin) and tylosin (Tylan; RT) fed during the entire feeding period; RT plus MGA (RTM) also fed during the entire feeding period; RT ...

This paper reviews the literature comparing growth performance, carcass, and meat quality data between barrows and boars. Compared with barrows, boars have reduced feed intake, improved feed efficiency, less backfat, higher nitrogen retention, and leaner carcasses. Growth rate of boars will be higher than that of barrows if adequate dietary amino acids are supplied. The improved growth performa...

Least squares means, genetic (sigma g), and phenotypic (sigma p) standard deviations, and phenotypic coefficients of variation (CV) were estimated on an age-constant basis for growth, carcass, and meat traits of castrate males from 12 breed groups combined, for 9 purebreds combined, and for the F3 generation of three composite populations combined to which the nine purebreds contributed. Also, ...

Because economic value of carcasses is dependent primarily on carcass weight and carcass quality, feedlot managers have an interest in factors associated with maximizing these two variables. The NRC (1996) proposes that body composition (fat and protein) and carcass characteristics of beef cattle at a specified percentage of mature body weight (BW) are fixed, which indicates that maturity, rath...

Four experiments were conducted to determine the effects of electrical stunning and decapitation on bird activity as well as carcass and meat quality. In Experiment 1, broilers were subjected to one of four stunning and killing methods: no stun and neck cut, stun and neck cut, no stun and decapitation, and stun and decapitation. Birds were scored for severity of physical activity on a scale of ...

By studying carcass quality, expressed as affection, pathological findings, slaughter-weight and evaluation, a picture of an animal's health and potential as high quality food is achieved. This study compares the carcass quality in Swedish certified organic meat production with that of conventional meat production slaughtered during 1997. The study involves 3.9 million pigs, about 570,000 cattl...