Performance and carcass characteristics of feedlot-finished Zebu cattle in different feeding systems
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5433/1679-0359.2018v39n4p1725Keywords:
Confinement, Fat, Gain yield, Semi-confinement, Trimming.Abstract
The performance and characteristics of 18 carcasses of feedlot-finished Zebu cattle were evaluated over 93 days in confinement or semi-confinement systems. In the semi-confinement system, two strategies of pasture deferral were adopted, 40 days (40DD) and 80 days (80DD). The feed of animals in confinement was composed of 24% of grass silage Urochloa spp. and 76% concentrate, on dry matter, freely supplied twice daily. Grazing animals received 4 kg of animal concentrate per day. The final fasting weight of the animals in confinement (534.92 kg) was higher than that of animals semi-confined in 40DD (475.33 kg) and 80DD (460.67 kg) pastures, because of the higher daily weight gain (1.37 vs. 0.82 and 0.64 kg, respectively). Feedlot-finished animals had a greater carcass gain (0.91 kg animal-1 day-1), resulting in a higher carcass weight (296.47 kg), higher thickness of external fat (5.42 mm), weight and percentage of side cut (17.88 kg and 12.20%), and weight and percentage of fat in the carcass (74.50 kg and 25.22%). However, no difference was observed for the metric and developmental characteristics of the carcass, which allowed good quality carcasses to be obtained, independent of the strategies evaluated. Feedlot-finished Zebu cattle provide heavier and bulky carcasses, leading to higher revenue per marketed carcass.Metrics
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2018 Semina: Ciências Agrárias
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
O Copyright dos manuscritos publicados pertence ao periódico. Como são publicados em um periódico de acesso aberto, eles estão disponíveis gratuitamente, para uso privado ou para fins educacionais e não comerciais.
A revista tem o direito de fazer, no documento original, alterações referentes às normas lingüísticas, ortografia e gramática, com o objetivo de garantir as normas padrão do idioma e a credibilidade da revista. No entanto, respeitará o estilo de escrita dos autores.
Quando necessário, alterações conceituais, correções ou sugestões serão encaminhadas aos autores. Nesses casos, o manuscrito deve ser submetido a uma nova avaliação após revisão.
A responsabilidade pelas opiniões expressas nos manuscritos é inteiramente dos autores.