Biometric and carcass analysis of lambs fed with forage palm silage and cottonseed cake

Abstract

The growing recognition of the importance of ovine meat has strengthened the sector in various parts of the world, as interest in food quality has significantly increased. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate the biometric and morphometric characteristics of carcasses from confined lambs. A total of thirty-two intact crossbred Dorper lambs, with an average live weight of 17 ± 1.5 kg, were slaughtered after reaching a body condition score of 3.5. The percentage and nutritional composition of the experimental diets were based on dry matter, consisting of 0, 20, 25, and 30 % cottonseed cake inclusion in a complete feed silage based on forage cactus. Biomorphometric characteristics, such as carcass composition and weight of edible viscera, were evaluated. Data on biometric measurements and carcass characteristics were subjected to descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, determination coefficient (R²), and multivariate analysis, while morphometric measurements were analyzed using canonical discriminant analysis through the Stepwise method to assess potential differences among treatments with cottonseed cake. CAN1 and CAN2 accounted for 73 % and 20 % of the total variation, respectively. The predictive models demonstrated high accuracy (R²=91 %), enabling producers who wish to implement the experimental diet to predict meat production based on biometric measurements. Chest depth was identified as the variable with the greatest discriminatory power in the morphometric analysis using the Stepwise method. A complete diet based on cactus silage with up to 30 % cottonseed cake can be used to estimate both slaughter weight and carcass characteristics of lambs. The predictive models showed high precision, making biometric evaluation an effective tool for estimating slaughter weight and carcass traits. Chest depth was the most discriminative variable among treatments. Including up to 30 % cottonseed cake in the diet also allowed for an effective estimate of slaughter weight, providing a practical approach to optimizing production and selecting high-performing animals before slaughter.