Meat production and internal organ development in young sheep slaughtered at 60 and 180 days
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61308/IGML1186Keywords:
carcass quality, meat production, meat composition, slaughter age, three racial male lambsAbstract
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the meat production and development of internal organs in lamb rams slaughtered at two and six months of age, as well as to determine the optimal periods of lambs rearing for meat production in the central region of our country.
The study presents the results of research carried out on two groups of three racial crossbred male lambs (50% Assaf bloodline). Within each group, two subgroups were formed for growth and slaughter at different ages: after weaning at 60 days (May) and at 180 days (September). According to the conducted research, it was established that at the age of 60 days (weaning), the three racial crossbred male lambs provide a well-developed carcass with an attractive commercial appearance and a slaughter yield of 51.1 – 52.5% while already having all internal organs fully developed. The carcasses obtained from lambs slaughtered at 180 days, raised under traditional conditions (daytime grazing with nighttime housing in a paddock near the barn), did not show significant differences in carcass quantity and quality, but had a slaughter yield reduced by 5 and 7.4 percentage points.
References
Erokhin, A. I., Karasev, E. A. & Erokhin, S. A. (2021). Precocity indices in sheep and determining factors. Journal of Sheep-Goats Wool Industry, 2, 6 - 9 (Ru).
Feizullaev, F. R., Filatov, A. S., Chamurliev, N. G., Melnikova, E. A. & Melnikov, A. G. (2021). Efficiency of mutton production at different slaughter ages of sheep. Journal of Sheep-Goats Wool Industry,1, 32 - 34 (Ru).
Gowane, G. R., Gadekar, Y. P., Prakash, V., Kadam, V., Chopra, A. & Prınce, L. L. (2017). Climate change impact on sheep production: growth, milk, wool and meat. In: Sheep production adapting to climate change, 31 - 69 (Ro).
Konovalov, A. V. (1992). Morphological and grade composition of crossbred sheep carcasses. In: Progressive technologies for milk, meat, and wool production in the Volga region. Saratov, 138 - 142 (Ru).
Lyutskanov, P. I., Mashner, O. A., Evtodienco, S. A. & Petcu, V. T. (2021). Efficiency of three-breed crossing for improving meat productivity in young sheep. In: Animal Breeding and Genetics. Interdepartmental Thematic Scientific Collection, 61, 83 - 89 (Md). Kyiv. ISSN 2312-0223.
Lyutskanov, P., Mashner, O. & Buzu, I. (2015). Development of new types of Țigaie and Karakul sheep in Moldova. Monograph. Palmarium Academic Publishing, Saarbrücken, 88 (Md). ISBN 978-3-659-601668.
Lushnikov, V. P., Levina, T. Yu. & Sarbaev, M. G. (2021). Meat productivity of ram lambs obtained by crossing Volgograd ewes with rams of various foreign breeds. Journal of Sheep-Goats Wool Industry, 2, 23 - 25 (Ru).
Mashner, O. & Lyutskanov, P. (2019). Growth and meat productivity of crossbred lambs of different genotypes. In: Animal Breeding and Genetics. Interdepartmental Thematic Scientific Collection, 57. 95-101. ISSN 2312-0223.
Mashner, O., Coshman, S. & Macari, V. coordinator Constantin Ojog. (2021). Best practices for adapting the livestock sector to climate change: Practical guide for farmers. Consolidated Unit for the Implementation of IFAD Programs (UCIP IFAD). Chișinău: S.n.,Bons Offices Printing House, 200 (Md). ISBN 978-9975-87-776-3.
Mayer, R. (1977). Carcass traits of lambs of Transylvanian Merino, Țigaie and Țurcană breeds in different fattening stages. In: Scientific Works., 3, 147 - 153 (Ro). Palas.
Moise, St. & Comșa, I. (1977). Establishing the optimal time for marketing fattened lambs of indigenous breeds. In: Scientific Works., 3, 77 - 84 (Ro). Palas.
Pascal, C. (2015). Treatise on sheep and goat breeding. Ed. PIM, Iași, 704 (Ro).
Pascal, C. (2007). Technique of assessing and evaluating productive performances in sheep and goats. Ed. ALFA, Iași, 268 (Ro).
Plokhınsky, N. I. (1969). Biometry guide for livestock specialists, 256 (Ru). Moscow.
Pogodaev, V. A. & Sergeeva, N. V. (2022). Use of Dorper breed for improving sheep meat productivity, 193 (Ru). Stavropol.
Pulina, G., Milan, M. J., Lavin, M. P., Thomas, D. L., Francesconi, A. H. D. & Caja, G. (2018). Invited review: Current production trends, farm structures and economics of the dairy sheep and goat sectors. Journal of Dairy Science, 101(8), 6715 – 6729.
Sarbasov, T. I. (1982). The role of intensive fattening of early-weaned lambs in obtaining high-quality lamb meat. In: Improving the quality of livestock products, 256 - 271 (Ru). Moscow.
Taftă, V. (2008). Sheep and goat breeding. Ed. CERES, 394 (Ro). Bucharest.
Taftă, V. (2006). Technology of lamb and kid rearing and fattening. Ed. CERES, 135 (Ro). Bucharest.
Vdovichenko, Yu. et al. (2017). Sheep farming in Ukraine. Edited by V.M. Yovenko. 2nd edition, revised and enlarged. Agrarian Science Publishing, 486 (Ua). Kyiv.
Yatskın, V. I. (2004). Improving the efficiency of mutton production, 421 (Ru). Moscow.
Yordanov, G., Venev, Y., Peeva, Ts., Raychev, E., Nikolova, L., Cholakova, B., Georgiev, V., Georgieva, Stoyanov, S., Ivanov, I., Goranova, K., Uzunova, K., Nonchev, G., Mihaylov, I. & Duchev, Z. (2017). Farm animal breeds in Bulgaria. Catalogue, 5th edition, 254 (Bg). Sofia.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Bulgarian Journal of Animal Husbandry
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
