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. 2023 Oct 25;13(21):3322.
doi: 10.3390/ani13213322.

Carcass Characteristics and Meat Quality of Karacabey Merino lambs Reared under Triticale and Oat Pastures Compared with Stall-Fed Lambs

Hulya Hanoglu Oral  1 , Pembe Dilara Kecici  2 , Firat Alaturk  3 , Cemil Tolu  4 , Bulent Ekiz  2 , Ahmet Gokkus  3
Affiliations

Carcass Characteristics and Meat Quality of Karacabey Merino lambs Reared under Triticale and Oat Pastures Compared with Stall-Fed Lambs

Hulya Hanoglu Oral et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

Fifty-eight Karacabey Merino lambs were used to study the effects of feeding system (triticale pasture, oat pasture, or stall-fed), birth type (single or multiple), gender (male or female), and birth year (2016 or 2017) on various carcass and meat quality characteristics. Stall lambs had higher conformation (CS) and fatness (FS) scores, and higher meat L* and h* values than the two pasture groups, possibly due to higher fat content, while oat pasture lambs had the most tender meat. Single-born lambs had higher CS, FS, and Longissimus thoracis muscle section area, while females had higher subcutaneous and non-carcass fat deposits than their counterparts. Both single-born lambs and 2016-born lambs had higher meat a* and C* values than their counterparts. In conclusion, a pasture-based feeding system is more suitable for Karacabey Merino lambs than a stall feeding system, if lean meat and/or meat products are preferred. However, it should not be ignored that stall-fed lambs showed a better fattening performance in terms of conformation and fatness, during the same period.

Keywords: Karacabey Merino; concentrate fed; feeding systems; pasture lambs.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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