The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate models for predicting the carcass composition of lambs. Forty male lambs were slaughtered and their carcasses were cooled for 24 hours. The subcutaneous fat thickness was measured between the 12th and 13th rib and breast bone tissue thickness was taken in the middle of the second sternebrae. Left side of carcasses was dissected and the proportio...

Total insulin specific binding (IB) and the number and affinity of insulin receptors on mononuclear leukocytes (MNL) were used to predict carcass composition of heifers and steers. Dependent variables were kidney fat, body cavity fat, s.c. fat, intermuscular fat, lean and bone. Independent variables were parameters that could be measured on the live animal, including insulin receptor characteri...

The impact of zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH) on carcass yield, composition, and tenderness was evaluated using 384 beef steers in a randomized complete block design. Main effects were the addition of 0 or 8.3 mg/kg of ZH for the final 20 d of feeding and each inclusion level was paired with withdrawal periods of 3, 10, 17, or 24 d. The 2 animals with BW closest to the pen average were selected f...

Objectives of this study were to determine the influence of trenbolone acetate (TBA) and estradiol (E2) in a combined implant on feedlot performance, carcass characteristics, and carcass composition in finishing steers. Sixty-four large-framed (394.1 kg) crossbred steers were randomly assigned to one of four pens. Subsequently, pens were randomly assigned to one of two treatments, implanted (12...

Previous research on impedance measurements for the prediction of carcass composition was predominantly carried out on animals that varied widely in body weight, breed, or sex. The high accuracy for the estimated lean or fat mass was mainly obtained by including the body weight in the regression equations. The objective of this study was the prediction of carcass composition in lambs of similar...

Carcass evaluation has a relatively long history in the animal and meat science scientific literature and one of the first studies to cover the composition of farm animals was reported by Lawes and Gilbert (1860) almost 130 years ago. These workers completed a large number of chemical analyses and found a relationship between fat and maturity (age and weight); a finding that has been repeated b...

Sixty rabbits from the 23rd generation (group S) of a line selected for growth rate were compared to sixty rabbits from the 7th generation of the same line (group C) to study possible relevant changes in carcass composition and meat quality due to the selection and the consequent decrease in degree of maturity at slaughter weight (2000g). The only relevant changes in carcass composition were an...

Non-invasive measurement of body composition provides advantages in growth studies compared to conventional techniques. The same individual can be measured several times, the measurement is faster, and the number of pigs required as well as the random effect of animal are reduced. The aim of the present study was to determine the composition of the half carcass and of the ham/shank region by a ...

A randomised design involving 66 continental cross beef steers (initial live weight 523 kg) was undertaken to evaluate the effects of the inclusion of maize or whole-crop wheat silages in grass silage-based diets on animal performance, carcass composition, and meat quality of beef cattle. Grass silage was offered either as the sole forage or in addition to either maize or whole-crop wheat silag...

The objective of this study was to test and validate electromagnetic scanning of whole pork carcasses in an on-line, integrated, industrial configuration. The electromagnetic (EM) scanner was installed in two pork processing facilities (Plant A and Plant B). Plant A was a small pork fabrication plant that further processed chilled pork carcasses. Carcasses were delivered to Plant A by refrigera...