The First Identification and Some Carcass Characteristics of the 7 Lumbar Vertebrae in Sheep in Turkey

The purpose of this study was to draw attention to the number of the lumbar vertebrae in R1 BBA crosses (Bafra x F1 (Bafra x Akkaraman)) lambs (75% Bafra and 25% Akkaraman), and the effect of 7 lumbar vertebrae on some carcass traits. Even though some studies reported that the number of the lumbar vertebrae might be considerably different dependent on the sheep genotype, this has not been reported for Turkish breeds. While a study on the R1 BBA lambs has been performed, seven lumbar vertebrae have been identified in four of the eighteen lambs. The means of the carcass length (80.800±0.583 and 84.375±1.375 cm) (P= 0.036), leg weight (5.942±0.079 and 6.209±0.052 kg) (P= 0.032), loin weight (1.560±0.096 and 1.849±0.060 kg) (P= 0.048), and loin’s lean weight (0.875±0.059 and 1.058±0.032 kg) (P= 0.040) were statistically different between the groups of lambs (6 and 7 lumbar vertebrae, respectively). In conclusion, the number of lumbar vertebrae has economically affected important parts of the carcass.

Growth and carcass performance of bull calves born from Hereford, Simmental and Charolais cows sired by Charolais bulls

The analysis comprised purebred Charolais bull calves (CH) and crossbred bull calves born from Hereford (CH × HE) and Simmental (CH × SI) cows. Body weights and daily gains were measured in subsequent periods of the experiment and the post-slaughter evaluation was carried out. Carcass lean weight and dressing percentage were evaluated, as well as the lean content of five prime cuts. Total weight of the five prime cuts was measured and its share in the half-carcass weight was determined. The rib-eye area was also measured. The CH × SI crossbreds reached significantly higher body weights at weaning, 210-day body weights and weights at finishing, as well as significantly higher daily gains in all the periods (<I>P</I> < 0.05, <I>P</I> < 0.01) and were characterized by the heaviest carcasses and most cuts, particularly the round. The crossbreds had the highest total weight of five prime cuts and total lean weight, highest weight of the round and lean weight in the round. Other relationships were found analyzing the share of each cut in the carcass. The share of tenderloin and rump in the carcass of CH × SI was significantly lower compared to the purebred bulls (<I>P</I> < 0.01) and CH × HE (<I>P</I> < 0.05). They also had a significantly lower share of the shoulder, shank and shin, as compared to the other groups, as well as a significantly higher (<I>P</I> < 0.05) share of the neck, as compared to the purebred bulls. The purebred bulls also achieved good results and had the highest share of the prime cuts and the largest mean rib-eye area.

Phenotypic and genetic characteristics of growth and carcass traits of Lori-Bakhtiari sheep

In this study, direct and maternal heritabilities were estimated for growth traits and carcass characteristics in Lori-Bakhtiari sheep. Data for birth weight (BW; n=5826), weaning weight (WW; n=5408), body weight at six months of age (6MW; n=4237), body weight at slaughter (SW; n=396), cold carcass weight (CCW; n=291), lean weight (LW; n=204), bone weight (WB; n=291), fat weight (WF; n=204) and fat-tail weight (FTW; n=396) were used to estimate the heritabilities. The data for first three traits had been collected during seventeen years, 1990 to 2006, while for other traits had been collected during six years, 2000 to 2006. Genetic parameters including both direct and maternal genetic effects were estimated using multivariate animal models, and a Derivative Free Restricted Maximum Likelihood (DFREML) approach. The direct heritability for BW, WW, 6MW, SW, CCW, LW, WB, WF and FTW were 0.30 ? 0.03, 0.13 ? 0.03, 0.20 ? 0.03, 0.24 ? 0.06, 0.16 ? 0.06, 0.16 ? 0.06, 0.20 ? 0.11, 0.23 ? 0.11, and 0.27 ? 0.11, respectively. Maternal heritability estimates were 0.22, 0.17, 0.06, 0.10, 0.09, 0.15, 0.26, 0.06 and 0.07 for BW, WW, 6MW, SW, CCW, LW, WB, WF and FTW, respectively. Consequently, genetic progress is possible for growth traits and carcass composition by selection.