CARCASS CHARACTERISTIC OF SOME NIGERIAN BREEDS OF SHEEP

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of breed on carcass characteristics of some Nigerian breeds of sheep. A total of nine (9) mature rams of 12 months of age (25 Kg) managed on the same system were used. The animals were kept for 24 hours where only water was provided to clear the gut content before slaughter. The result indicated that there was significant (P<0.05) effect of breed on carcass characteristics in which Balami breed of sheep had higher value for live weight (39.90 kg), slaughter weight (36.7 kg) and dressed carcass weight (21.0 kg), followed by Uda and Yankasa. Dressing percentage was not significantly (P>0.05) different among breeds. Breed significantly (P<0.05) affected the visceral components in which Balami recorded higher value followed by Uda and Yankasa. The result of prime cut revealed significant (P<0.05) breed effect in which the rack (6.00 kg), rib (2.67 kg), loin (3.10 kg), thigh (3.77 kg), flank (3.19 kg) and breast (2.27 kg) were higher for Balami, followed by Uda and Yankasa. It was concluded that Balami breed of sheep was superior to Uda and Yankasa breeds in terms of carcass characteristics, visceral components and prime cuts. It was therefore recommended that Balami should be used when one is interested in carcass characteristics, visceral components and prime cuts.