Carcass characteristics of sheep supplemented with prickly pear cactus (Opuntia spp.) and mezquite (Prossopis spp.).

摘要

In Mexico, sheep meat consumption has been increasing during the last years. Factors explaining this situation are consumer preferences and production efficiency. Consumers demand less fat in their meat. Production efficiency could be achieved by using feeds that lower animal production costs without affecting productivity. Feeds that offer utilization potential in the feeding of animals are prickly pear cactus and mezquite. The objectives of this work were to determine the yield of carcass and its characteristics (dorsal fat, rib fat, kidney fat, leg eye area) of sheep supplemented with prickly pear cactus and mezquite. Fifteen male sheeps with initial weight of 20.6 kg were assigned to treatments I: control ration, II: 80% control ration plus 15% prickly pear cactus and 5% mezquite, and III: 80% control ration plus 5% prickly pear cactus and 15% mezquite during 60 days. Carcass yields (kg) were not different (P>0.05) between treatments I (18.95), II (17.30), and III (18.25). No differences (P>0.05) were observed between treatments I, II, and III for dorsal fat (1.80 for all treatments), rib fat (0.50 for all treatments), kidney fat (4.00, 5.00, and 4.00, respectively), and leg eye area (25.00, 26.70 and 26.25, respectively). Chemical analysis of meat for all treatment showed no differences (P>0.05) among treatments. The economic analysis showed lower costs for treatments II and III than treatment I, which indicates savings by using prickly pear cactus and mezquite as supplement in the feeding of sheep, without affecting the yield or quality of the meat produced.