Carcass Characteristics of Barki Lambs Slaughtered at Different Live Weights

This study was carried out at Maryout Research Station, Desert Research Center, Egypt. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of slaughter weight on carcass characteristics of Barki lambs. Lambs were slaughtered at three different final live body weights nearly 30, 40 and 50 kg. One hundred and seventy-three Barki lambs were used to obtain data for this study. Increasing average slaughter weight from 30 to either 40 or 50 kg resulted in significant increases in empty body weight, carcass weight and non-carcass components. Dressing percentage was of the highest percentage in 40-kg group (57.19%), while decreased significantly (P<0.01) in both 30-kg (55.69%) and 50-kg (56.09%) groups. As well, absolute weights of wholesale cuts increased significantly with increasing slaughter weight. For cuts percentages, shoulder and leg decreased, while the neck, loin and fat tail increased. The rack% did not change. The bone% in the 9-10-11 rib cut decreased significantly with increasing slaughter weight. On the contrary, fat% increased significantly as slaughter weight increased. However, the percentage of lean meat showed increasing trend from 30-kg to either 40- or 50-kg groups (49.61, 54.69 and 52.44 %, respectively), with highest value for the medium slaughter weight group. As slaughter weight increased, the lean meat to fat ratio decreased (P<0.01), while the lean meat to bone ratio increased (P<0.01). The moisture content of eye muscle meat decreased (P< 0.01) while the intramuscular fat content increased by increasing slaughter weight. On the other hand, the differences in protein and ash % of meat among slaughter weight groups were not significant. In conclusion, the reasonable carcass yield and the relatively better quality of the medium-weighted group make that the average of 40 kg slaughter weight a preferable for Barki lambs.