Yield and Carcass Composition of Goats as Affected by Breed and Slaughter weight

Abstract

Slaughter weight were obtained from 36 (18 West African Dwarf, WAD and 18 Red Sokoto, RS) goats slaughtered at 10, 15 and 20 kg body weights of the animals ranged between 5.47 and 8.82kg and were fed 16.8% crude protein concentrate diet before being slaughtered later at the Predetermined body weights . After slaughtering and evisceration, the dressed carcasses were weighed, chilled at 3°C for 24 h and evaluated. Each carcass was split into two halves along the backbone using meat saw. The right slide of the carcass was separated into wholesale cuts and weighed while the left half was split into trunk, pelvic and pectoral limbs. Each part was subsequently dissected into lean, fat and bones. The result obtained showed that the hot carcass weight (HCW), chilled carcass weight (CCW) and the dressing percentage (DP) increased significantly (