Características de carcaça e da carne de cabritos machos inteiros, castrados e fêmeas

Abstract

The research was conducted at the Instituto de Zootecnia, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, located in the municipality of Seropédica, state of Rio de Janeiro. We used 26 animals with 9 males entires, 9 castrated and 8 females aged 5 months and every breed. The animals received the same diet ad libitum, with 11% crude protein, 3.2 Mcal of metabolizable energy and 0.8 kg of dry matter meeting the nutrient requirements recommended by NRC (1981) for average daily gain of 0, 1 Kg morphometric measurements were carried out fortnightly in the morning before feeding, with the aid of tape being checked: withers height (WH), hip height (HH), heart girth (HG), perimeter barrel (PB), body length (BL), rump length (RL), chest width (CW) and rump width (RW). The evaluations of the body condition of the animals were done in prior to the slaughter. The procedures were performed by three examiners, who established score ranging from 1 to 5, according to visual observation and tactile regions rib, back and sternum, based on the degree of fat deposition and muscle development. As the largest increase in these tissues the body condition score. The goats were fasted solids for 14 hours before slaughter, and weighed (final weight - FH) immediately before. The morphometric measurements of carcass were: internal carcass length (CL), leg length (LL) and cushion thickness (CT) were obtained with the aid of tape and compass, in the case of the last measurement. There was not difference between groups, but the largest absolute values were found for bulls, steers and females respectively. This fact can be explained by the action of testosterone in whole animals, but as they were still in the onset of puberty may not have been enough for the secondary sex characteristics to excel. Goats breed is an alternative to meat production in intensive farming systems. The choice between the sexes to be created will depend on the infrastructure of the breeding, management and marketing to be stocked.