Composição física dos cortes comerciais de caprinos e ovinos terminados em caatinga enriquecida com capim buffel (Cenchrus ciliares L. cv. Biloela).

Abstract

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the physical composition of commercial cuts of goats and sheep finished in caatinga enriched with Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliares L. cv. Biloela). The experiment was carried out in Lameirão Farm, belonging to the CSTR/UFCG/Patos - PB. Twenty-four animals were utilized, 12 F1 goats (Boer x SRD) and 12 Santa Inês sheep with an initial live weight of 20 kilogrammes. The food management consisted of grazing from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, when they were collected to stay overnight in stalls. The experiment lasted 104 days and the animals were slaughtered when they reached 30 kilogrammes of live weight (LW). After slaughtering, the left half carcass was divided into five anatomical regions, commonly referred to as commercial cuts: neck, loin, ribs, shoulder and leg, which were then congealed for subsequent dissection. An entirely randomized design was used and the data was submitted to variance analysis, always at a 5% probability level. The sheep presented significantly higher values than the goats in bone weight, muscle/bone ratio, percentage of muscle and percentage of bone in the neck. The tissue composition of the loin did not submit significant differences between the species. However, the loin was the cut that concentrated the highest physical fat yield in both species. There was no significant influence of the animal species on the physical composition of the ribs. The sheep presented a higher percentage of bone in the palette. The other variables evaluated in the palette did not present significant differences among species. There was a significant difference in the weight of the leg bones of the animals, with higher values for the ovine species, and the other variables did not differ significantly. It is recommended, if the objective is leg and loin with similar composition, to terminate goats and sheep in thinned caatinga enriched with buffel grass, but if the deposition of muscle tissue and bones of the palette and neck is observed, goats respond better to this alternative management.