The offal components and carcass measurements of Creole kids of Guadeloupe under various feeding regimes

G Alexandre, L Liméa, A Nepos*, J Fleury*, C Lallo** and H Archimede

INRA UR 143 Unité de Recherches Zootechniques, Centre INRA-Antilles-Guyane, Domaine Duclos, 97170 Petit Bourg, Guadeloup.
* INRA UE 1294 Plateforme Tropicale en Expérimentation sur l'Animal Centre INRA-Antilles-Guyane, Gardel, 97160 Le Moule, Guadeloupe
** Department Food Production, Faculty of Science and Agriculture. The University of the West Indies
gisele.alexandre@antilles.inra.fr

Abstract

A study was conducted to assess the carcass traits and measurements for fattening Guadeloupe Creole goat fed on four different nutritional regime (10 kids each).  The group G0 was fed tropical forage only, while groups G100, G200 and G300 received in addition 130 g, 230 g and 330 g of commercial pellet, respectively.

Carcass weights and output were on average 11.8 kg and 49.5%. Abdominal fat deposits were significantly higher (P <0.01) for kids supplemented above a 100 g concentrate (G200 and G300). However, it remained low (3 to 5% of the empty bodyweight). The proportions of white offal and red organs were the highest (P <0.01) for the forage-fed kids treatment G0 compared to the other 3 groups.  Leg, shoulder and ribs were the most important joints in all treatments (63% of carcass). Their values increased (P <0.05) progressively with inclusion of concentrate in the diet and consequently the weights of the dissected tissues. The proportions of muscle were high (74%) while those of fat were low (5%).  Almost all the carcass linear measurements did not varied with diet except the buttock width that was higher (P <0.05) in treatment G300. The carcass and leg compactness did not vary significantly, while their indexes calculated on a weight basis (kg/cm) increased significantly (P <0.01) within the diet group until G200 group.

By increasing the nutritional densities of the diet, it was possible to obtain heavy and fleshy carcasses, with no apparent detrimental effect on the carcass. Thus there is scope for intensive fattening of the Creole goat.

Keywords: carcass cuts, goat, offal, linear measurements, tissue dissection

Introduction

The local demand for goat meat in the Caribbean far outstrip local production as in Guadeloupe, (Alexandre et al 2008a) where less than 45% of the total consumption is locally produced (with a high 15 to 20 €/kg carcass). There is an urgent need to increase goat meat production in the Caribbean region. Goat farming is mainly centred on the Creole breed which is a native hardy genotype widely found throughout the Caribbean (Navès et al 2001).  This genotype is known for its good adaptative (Mandonnet et al 2001) and reproductive traits (Alexandre et al 1999), however little knowledge is available regarding it's carcass and non-carcass characteristics (Liméa et al 2009b). Traditional slaughter weight of male kids is about 18-20 kg live weight (LW, 36% of its mature weight) and can be reached at 8 to 18 months of age, depending on the feeding and management system. Butchers and farmers have called attention to the prevailing low carcass yield and poor carcass conformation. This they considered as very negative traits that they associate to the hardy Creole genotype (Alexandre et al 2008a) even so, there has been very little work done in this regard.

The most widespread feeding mode is grazing (Alexandre et al 1997) and this is mainly based on natural, unimproved savannahs, which lead to poor animal performance. With small ruminants, the tendency in the Caribbean (Lallo et  al 1991) as in many developing countries (Almeida et  al 2006; Phengvichith and Ledin 2007), is towards intensive fattening operations. Studies have begun with Creole male goats, in the field of carcass characteristics and meat quality in relation to rearing and slaughter conditions (Liméa et al 2009b). Moreover, feeding trials are ongoing in order to recommend supplementation strategies for the use of relatively expensive concentrates with tropical forage for feeding local goats raised for meat. Results on intake, use of diets for growth and chemical composition of carcass have been analysed in another paper (Limea et al 2009a).

However, in order to promote fattening systems and make these activities economically viable not only for the farmers but for the whole local sector, carcass description should be addressed. Carcass shape in meat animals is traditionally an important trait to stud breeders and meat traders. It can refer to the proportional size of body parts, it has been defined for sheep (review of Laville et al 2002) as the depth of flesh relative to skeletal dimension and is greatly influenced by the quantity of fat in the carcass. So there is a need to describe carcass measurements, cuts and tissue partitioning

The objective of this study was to assess the performances at slaughter, offal yields and carcass cuts and measurements of a fattening Creole goat fed various levels of nutritional regime in order to provide factual data to the goat meat sector. 

Materials and methods 

The study was conducted on the Experimental Farm of the INRA Animal Production Research Unit in Guadeloupe. The area is characterised by a humid tropical climate with an annual rainfall of 2860 mm and an average temperature of 25°C.

Experimental diets and animal management

Forty intact male Creole goat kids with an initial live weight (LW) of 9.0 kg (± 1.2) were used for the study (Table 1).

Four groups of kids (10 per group) were raised indoors on slatted floor and were compared on the basis of the offered level of concentrate in the diet (see Liméa et al 2009a). The G0 group received the basal diet without concentrate, the G100, G200 and G300 groups received the basal diet plus 130, 230 and 330 of concentrate per kid and per day, respectively. The basal diet (8.8 MJ of ME, 10.8 % CP) was a stand of green tropical forage (Digitaria decumbens and Dichantium sp.). The concentrate was a commercially-available product (13.6 MJ of ME, 20.9 % CP) used by goat farmers with 90% dry matter (DM), consisting of maize (68%), soybean cake (15%), wheat bran (11%), urea (1%) and vitamin and mineral supplement (5%). Details of the chemical composition and feeding value of the different components of the diet are given in Limea et al (2009a).

Carcass evaluation and measurements

The animals were slaughtered at 22-24 kg liveweight (Table 1). Before slaughter, the animals were weighed after a 24-h fasting period (slaughter weight, SW). After bleeding, the full digestive tract was removed, weighed full, emptied and reweighed. The peritoneal and mesenteric fats were removed and weighed. Weights of head, feet, skin, liver, heart/trachea/lungs and rest (spleen, bladder, testes) were recorded. Left metacarpal bone was cleaned from all connective tissue and weighed fresh and length and diaphyseal diameter were measured.

Dressed carcasses were weighed (carcass weight, CW) and then chilled for 24 hours at 4°C. The day after slaughter, the kidneys and channel fat depots were removed and weighed and the cold carcass was carefully split longitudinally. The left side was cut into five standardized commercial joints (shoulder, neck, breast, leg, and ribs + loin) according to Colomer-Rocher et al (1987). Each joint was weighed. The shoulder and leg were dissected: muscle, bone, and fat were separated according to commercial practice with a closer trimming and deboning of the lean. The total separated weights of muscle, bone and fat were recorded and the respective percentages were calculated. Linear measurements were taken and included on the entire carcass: length of the back and buttock width; and on the left side: carcass length, leg length and thoracic depth.

Data calculations and statistical analyses

Empty body weight (EBW) was calculated as the difference between live weight just before slaughter and digestive contents. Total abdominal fat was the sum of omental, mesenteric, kidney and pelvic fats. Offal components were grouped into head, skin and feet (HSF), red organs (heart, lung and trachea, liver and kidney), digestive tract (DT: stomach, small intestine and large intestine) while the rest (thymus, spleen, diaphragm, pancreas, gall bladder, bladder, testicles and penis) was considered as wastes. The red organs were thus edible components, while edible DT concerned only the whole stomach. Total non-carcass components were considered grouping red organs, digestive tract, HSF and abdominal fat depots. Total edible items were the sum of edible TD plus edible red organs.

Different indices were calculated and these were i) carcass compactness: buttock width /back length; ii) leg compactness: buttock width /leg length; iii) carcass weight/ carcass length and iv) leg weight/leg length.

Data were analysed using PROC GLM (SAS 2000) with feeding regime as the main effect in the model. Body components and gastro intestinal parts were studied with slaughter weight used as a covariable. Carcass cuts, linear measurements and indices were studied with carcass weight used as a covariable. In both case, the covariable was kept in the model only when significant.

Results  

The abdominal fat deposits were significantly higher (P<0.01; Table 2) for kids supplemented above a 100g concentrate, (G200 and G300).

Feeding system influenced significantly (P<0.05) the weight or percentage of red organs and digestive tract except the percentage of HSF. The proportions of total white offal and red organs were the highest (P<0.01) for the forage-fed kids treatment G0 compared to the other 3 groups. As for the edible part of the digestive tract it decreased (P<0.05) up to G200 and tended to remain similar for G300.

Weights of standardized joints from left half carcasses are shown in Table 2. Leg, shoulder and ribs were the most important joints in all treatments. Their values increased (P<0.05) progressively with inclusion of concentrate in the diet. The increase in weights of the main carcass cuts was related to the carcass weight increase. The proportions (%) of carcass cuts relative to the carcass weight did not vary significantly the shoulder represented 19.5%, the neck 13.0% and the leg 30.4%.

Table 3 presents shoulder and leg dissection by treatments.

Due to the increasing weights of the shoulder and the leg with treatments, the different tissue weights (muscle, bone and intermuscular fat) dissected from these pieces, followed a similar trend. Thus there was a significant effect of feeding regime on all tissue weights (P <0.05), whereas the percentages (related to joint weight) did not varied significantly. The ratio of muscle/bone calculated either in the shoulder or in the leg ranged from 3.4 to 4.0 but values did not reach significance (P >0.05), except for ratio calculated in leg for G200 carcasses.

Almost all the carcass linear measurements (Table 4) did not varied with diet except the buttock width that was higher (P <0.05) in treatment G300.

The carcass and leg compactness did not vary significantly (Table 4). The indexes calculated on a weight basis (kg/cm), either for the carcass or the leg, increased significantly (P <0.01) within the diet group until G200 group, with 20 and 24% difference between the two extreme values for carcass and leg, respectively. There was no significant difference between G200 and G300 indexes, and the general pattern described a curvilinear trend of variation with the CW for both index. Among the variables attached to the canon, only the weight varied with G300 canon being 15% heavier (P <0.05) than the others.

Discussion 

Carcass and offal components

The main observations on visceral and red organs of this study fell within conclusions of Atti et al (2004) who reported that diet influence visceral and red organ mass. In relation to red organs, it is known (Atti et al 2004; Almeida et al 2006) that the liver weight decreased with a decreasing plane of nutrition eliciting a reduced metabolic rate and mass of metabolically active tissue such as the liver (Wester et  al 1995). As for the digestive tract, forage fed kids had a heavier stomach observed also by Atti et al (2004) and Phengvichith and Ledin (2007) and which can be related to high digestive activities due to digestion of high fibre diet. It follows that the TD proportion in G300 should be lower because of the lower proportion of forage in their diet. However, given that physical maturation of the ruminal epithelium is linked to ruminal production of volatile fatty acids (VFA), it could be hypothesised that the increasing production of these VFA linked to increasing concentrate intake, could be responsible of higher rumen masses in highly supplemented kids comparatively to forage fed counterparts.  In the current study the concentrate-fed kids had heavier visceral or organ weights than the forage-fed ones whereas their proportion to EBW were inverse. In fact, for almost all non-carcass components the proportion was the highest in G0 kids. Probably this can be due to the mode of calculation when variables are reported to EBW; this latter was lower for forage fed kids due to high mass of gut fill.  

When the HSF % was recalculated relatively to SW the value was 18% to be compared to the 20 and 22% reported by Aduku et al (1991) and Tshabalala et al (2003) for tropical kids reared in Kenya and South Africa, respectively. Percentages of HSF relative to EBW did not significantly vary according to diet treatment. Atti et al (2004) reported that the weight of offal components rich in bone and/or with low metabolic activity varied slightly with diet, given that these components are early maturing and less affected by dietary effects in growing compared with mature animals. Bones are highly developing in the early stages of life in order to support muscle growth.  There was a clear tendency for G300 kids to have heavier bone parts such as in the leg and also heavier cannon weight than the other 3 counterparts. Since works of Hammond (1962), it is known that maximal growth rate is attained firstly by bone, secondly by muscle and lastly by fatty tissue. The G300 had the highest growth rate and consequently lowest age at slaughter.

Depending on the cultural context, the non-carcass components (offal) may be considered as waste material that is thrown away, or as delicacies that can command an interesting price such as in Jamaica, Antigua and French West Indies. Non-carcass components are an important part of the goat farmers’ economies. Studies aiming at the development of the local meat sector should take into account the cultural habits of the consumer such as in Africa (Aduku et al 1991), Texas (Riley et  al 1989) or in Brazil (Santos et al 2005). In the present study, when the edible parts of the DT and red organs are accounted in view of commercial use, the total proportion of edible part ranged from 8 to 10% of EBW. Same traits related to SW reached 7%. Thus the addition of total carcass and edible organs allow to asses a new output related to SW that ranged from 48 to 62% of commercially available products from G0 to G300 groups, respectively. While on the other hand, the carcass output alone ranged from 41 to 55%. Moreover, given the interest (Alexandre et al 2008a) of the head and feet included in an Indian recipe and of the skin used by drum makers it could be suggested to consider also their weights for economical value. 

Carcass composition and cut dissection

Meat experts outlined that the intrinsic value of a feeder animal is appreciated owing to its optimal proportions, at a preferred market weight, of the different carcass cuts. Feeding level had an effect on all joints and the highest supplemented kids (G200 and G300) had heavier joints as a result of their greater hot carcass weight. When carcass cut weights were related to CW, the proportions were similar within treatments and this was in agreement with Mahgoub et al (2005). In fact, the animals were slaughtered at similar SW. The leg and shoulder proportions were in the upper range of values reported for the well-conformed genetic breeds compared by Cameron et  al (2001), Dhanda et  al (2003) and Tshabalala et al (2003). The distribution of prime cuts reaching 63% CW is of great interest for the local butchers.

Carcass of meat animal is composed primarily of varying proportions of muscle, fat and bone. In many countries muscle is the most important carcass tissue to the consumer, while fat is related to health problems mainly in developed societies. In our conditions, as in other tropical regions, the bone part is considered as a negative aspect and lack of muscularity seems to characterize the local breeds which are poorly rated due to their small frame/size. Similarly to results of Abdullah and Mussalam (2007) and Atti et al (2004), there was no significant effect of diet on tissue proportions, although the change in age or carcass weight. Moreover, treatment had no significant effect on intermuscular fat of shoulder and leg irrespective of its significant effect (P <0.01) on abdominal fat deposits. Probably, this tropical breed of goat has a low carcass fattening propensity, since in meat-type animals, at the same weight, breeds heavier at maturity contain less fat and more muscle and bone than the breeds smaller at maturity. Probably this indigenous tropical goat is not an early-maturing type animal contrary to many of its counterparts in cattle or pig.

In most studies reporting on meat animals, the effects of the feeding system on carcass composition are due to the effects of growth rate (and its sequence of bone, muscle, fat) on the partitioning of energy for tissue gain.  Daily energy intake for kids may have been sufficient to meet energy requirements for bone and lean tissue but provided less energy for fat accretion. In goats, the accretion of fat and muscle regulation and their relative body partionning are insufficiently studied within the perspective of meat production improvement. Two main reasons can be underlined: i) in most studies meat production is very frequently a sub-product of the milk or fibre sector and ii) there are not so many specialised meat breeds. Not so much works deal with the distribution of specific muscles apart from Mahgoub and Lu (1998), who found in a comparative study of Omani goats of different mature size that the smaller Dhofari exhibited higher proportion of muscle but lower proportion of bone in the carcass than the larger Batina goat. As such, the smaller goat breed would appeared to be more suitable for meat production than the heavier ones under the local conditions of Oman.

The shoulder and the leg are known to have the highest percentage of muscles (Cameron et al 2001; Dhanda et al 2003; Abdullah and Mussalam 2007). Obviously, the percentages in muscle were higher (2 to 3 points more) in leg than in shoulder while those of fat were lower, whatever the diet group.  In this study, the values reached 73 to 75%, while in the cited papers, values from one genotype to another ranged from 58 to 71% vs. 53 to 68%, in the leg and shoulder respectively. The higher muscle percent recorded for the Creole leg and shoulder could be due to their lower fat content (3-7%) compared to the 10-13% observed by Cameron et al (2001) or Dhanda et al (2003). An additional feature which would help in describing the meat potential, could be the muscle/bone ratio. The ratios of muscle/bone appeared to be similar in both cut and approximated the good levels of 3.5 to 4.0. This trait is particularly relevant for the Creole male goats which attained the upper range of values tabulated in studies comparing different genotypes such as data of Dhanda et al (2003) in Australia and Monte et  al (2007) in Brazil. It is important to notice that lower values were reported in other meat studies, Cameron et al (2001); reported values of 2.3 to 2.9 and Atti et al (2004) gave values of 2.3 to 2.5.

Linear measurements and indexes

According to De Boer et al (1974), the linear carcass measurements are indices of skeletal development and indirectly help to determine carcass conformation, they are dependent on genotype, sex and feeding regimen (inducing different growth patterns). Thus, comparisons of absolute values between studies are difficult. Attah et al (2004), have compared the West African Dwarf to the Red Sokoto; within similar range of carcass weight, lengths were 2 to 4 cm more while widths did not vary consistently. The values obtained for Creole kids in our study were in the upper range of those reported in the cited reference, although methods of determination may have differed.

When compared within a similar range of carcass weights, the West African breeds (Mourad et al 2001) exhibited very good carcasses indexes similar to or even higher than the larger Boer crossbreds (Oman et al 1999), contrary to the widely held believe of their inferiority. In this present study the leg indices could be similar to the muscularity trait which is a concept defined in sheep by Purchas et al (1991): the calculation of muscularity is based on femur length and the weight of surrounding muscles. Compared to other studies although very scarce, our values are quite satisfactory (0.041-0.049) which compared very well with many other breeds (Italian Jonica, 0.035-0.044 (Marsico et al 1993); Canary caprine 0.022-0.053 (Marichal et al 2003), but lower than data of Omani breeds 0.070-0.078 (Kadim et al 2003). 

Some recommendations

There is a huge number of goat breeds in the world where different body sizes and animal functions have been described as well as varying modes of production (Devendra and Burns 1983), but few objective comparative data exist. Comparisons are confounded by the range of environmental conditions in which goats are kept. Boer goats are spread-out all over the world. This breed may have a higher proportion of muscle in the carcass than other goat breeds, but data on this point are far from conclusive (Warmington and Kirton 1990). Recently, Almeida et al (2006) outlined that extensive conditions, which are very common in tropical regions, markedly reduced the productive performances and carcass characteristics in the Boer male goat. Thus, when comparing the indigenous Creole breed to higher and heavier ones, the question that remains is small size and/ or stage of maturity? Since, when comparing breeds of different size it is important to take into account live weight at slaughter and stage of maturity (Mahgoub and Lu 1998). The medium sized Caribbean Creole goat breed could be a valuable meat producer based on the very satisfactory carcass and leg indexes, muscle/bone ratios and carcass yield and cutability. The use of these descriptors of carcass conformation suggest that Creole goats, although not yet selected, can be compared to other so-called fleshy meat breeds. An encouraging incentive for the local sector and research for genetic improvement.

Use of concentrates was totally experimental, however, to reach sustainability in meat system in our regions it is necessary also to recommend the use of by-products for fattening animals as reported elsewhere (Lallo 1996; Alexandre et al 2008b).

Conclusions   

• By increasing the nutritional densities of the diet, it was possible to obtain heavy and fleshy carcasses, with no apparent detrimental effect on the carcass. The initial results of this study allow to better describe the carcass traits and determine the range of variation linked to feeding levels in order to provide factual data to the goat meat sector.

• Data of this study emphasize importance of consideration of yields of all offal items that can be used as food rather than simply basing live value of goats on quantitative or qualitative aspects of their carcasses when decisions regarding development of meat sector are to be made within the local context. The carcass and non-carcass composition of tropical goats are not sufficiently known, thus it is highly recommended to assess the effect of parameters of systems of production on the carcass composition, wholesale cut, tissue percentages, and the non-carcass components. Studies still to be addressed given that an effective grading system for feeder kids is needed for standardized description and reporting of genotype and/or system value differences.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank R Arquet, B Bocage, O Coppry, J Gobardhan, G Gravillon and F Silou for their technical help. They are grateful to C Lallo for English corrections to the manuscript. This study was supported by the “Region Guadeloupe”, the “Region Martinique” and the “European Community” (FEOGA).

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Received 27 January 2010; Accepted 1 April 2010; Published 1 May 2010

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