Growth of carcass and carcass component of different slaughter weights of local ram

Abstract

Quantity and quality of carcass which composed of lean (red meat), bone and fat can be evaluated after the animal has been slaughtered, eviscerated and split into cuts. Accuracy in visually appraising slaughter weight of carcass can be used as a tool in producing red meat animals with a more desirable carcass composition of lean to fat at certain body weight. Eighteen local ram were used in this study. They were slaughtered at 6 categories of slaughter weight, i.e. 7.5 kg, 9.98 kg, 12.5 kg, 15.1 kg, 17.4 kg and 20.2 kg. The objective of the study was to evaluate the growth of b carcass and its components (lean, bone and fat) of ram used allometric equation: Y = aX . The results showed that local ram with those 6 categories body weight yielded carcass in the range from 47.12 to 49.33 % which consisted of lean from 61.99 to 66.47 %, bone from 15.51 to 26.71 %, and fat from 7.07 to 22.66 %. The growth of carcass components in relation to body weight and carcass weight showed that either carcass percentage or lean were fixed, while bone was decreased, and fat was increased with the increasing body weight and carcass weight. The rate of fat deposit was increased with the increasing body weight. It is concluded that local ram generated body weight and simultaneously increases fat content of carcass. Slaughter weight of local ram ranged from 7.6 to 17.4 kg is the best to slaughter for human consumption.