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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2010, Vol. 19 ›› Issue (1): 158-165.

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Effects of fresh alfalfa forage on the dressing performance and meat quality of Boer goat

Effects of fresh alfalfa forage on the dressing performance and meat quality of Boer goat
LIU Quan-wei, WANG Cheng-zhang, YAN Xue-bing, HE Yun, WANG Yan-hua
(School of Animal Science and Vetinary of Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China)   

  1. Effects of fresh alfalfa forage on the dressing performance and meat quality of Boer goat
    LIU Quan-wei, WANG Cheng-zhang, YAN Xue-bing, HE Yun, WANG Yan-hua
    School of Animal Science and Vetinary of Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
  • Received:2009-03-06 Online:2010-01-25 Published:2010-02-20

Abstract: Forty-five 3-month-old and weighed [(18.00±1.01) kg] Boer goats were placed into five treatments. Goats were fed diets with 0%, 15%, 30%, 45% or 60% fresh alfalfa during the experimental period. Three healthy male lambs (aged 6 months) from each group, were slaughtered to study the effects of fresh alfalfa on carcass and meat quality. 1) Carcass weight (kg), dressing percentage (%) and lean meat percentage (%) of trialed groups are higher than those of the control group, although there was no marked difference with higher values in groupsⅠand Ⅱ. 2) The lowest pH values of breast meat (P<0.01), shear force, muscle fibre diameter and stearic acid content (P<0.05), as well as highest values of crude fatty acid, protein, linolenic acid (P<0.01) and linoleic acid (P<0.05) contents, were in group Ⅱ. The highest and the lowest values of physical and chemical traits were in the control group. 3) SOD content of group Ⅱ was highest and MDA content was lowest: The opposite to the control group. Fresh alfalfa forage not only reduced the characteristic smell of mutton, but increased its flavour and antioxidant activity. The optimal ratio of adding fresh alfalfa forage to the ration of Boer goat was 30%.

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