Effects of diet on leather quality and longissimus muscle composition of three Ethiopian indigenous goat types

摘要

A 3 x 2 factorial experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of breed or genotype and levels of concentrate on muscle composition and skin and leather quality characteristics. The three indigenous goat genotypes used were Bati, Hararghe highland (HH), and short-eared Somali (SS), (12/genotype) with an average initial weight of 15.2 +/- 0.245 kg. The goats were all males similar to 1 year of age. After grouping based on their initial weight, they were randomly assigned to two levels of concentrate feeding (six goats per genotype per treatment) and fed for 90 days. The two concentrate feeding levels were C1 and C2, where goats were fed at 1% and 1.5% of their bodyweights, respectively. At the end of the study, all goats were slaughtered and samples were taken from the longissimus muscle for chemical composition analysis. The skins were weighed, preserved and processed into leather for physico-chemical analysis. The longissimus muscle of SS goats had higher (P < 0.05) fat content (7.01%) than Bati (6.05%) and HH (6.02%) goats. Feeding concentrate at 1.5% bodyweight increased carcass weights (P < 0.01), and increased the protein and fat contents of the longissimus muscle by similar to 5.4% and 3.5%, respectively. Similarly, goats under C2 feeding group had heavier skin than those under C1. However, Bati and HH goats produced 250 g more heavier leather than SS goats. Leathers made from skins of HH goats were thicker (1.56 mm) than those from Bati (1.32 mm) and SS goats (1.23 mm). Leathers from SS goats tended to have lower (P=0.07) tear strength and higher (P = 0.05) fat content than those from Bati and HH goats. Goats fed C2 produced leathers with higher (P < 0.05) tear strength (51.6 N/mm) and fat content (6.2%) than those fed C1. In conclusion, the study revealed that the meat obtained from the three goat types had low to medium fat content that can meet the needs of diversified consumers. Moreover, they produced quality leather comparable to the quality standard set for good quality leather despite leathers from SS goats tending to have lower tear strength and higher fat content.