Department of Animal, aquaculture and Range Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2020 Nov;52(6):3207-3216. doi: 10.1007/s11250-020-02346-y. Epub 2020 Jul 7.
A study was conducted in Hanang District to assess potential for on-farm feedlot finishing of Tanzanian Shorthorn Zebu (TSHZ) in dry season using locally available feed resources. A total of 65 (2-3 years old, 150-250 kg LWT) steers were randomly distributed into two dietary treatments in three villages. The steers were finished either in feedlots using compounded diets or under free grazing in accordance with farmers' practice. Following 90 days of feeding, all steers were slaughtered for detailed carcass and meat quality assessment. Growth performance, carcass and meat quality of experimental animals were assessed to determine feedlot performance of TSHZ. Results show that average daily gain of feedlot-finished animals (620 g/day) was nearly three-fold higher (P = 0.042) than that of grazed steers (223 g/day). Feedlot-finished steers produced 28 kg (P = 0.001) heavier carcasses than grazed ones. Carcasses from feedlot-finished steers cooled slowly as they had higher (P = 0.001) temperatures than that of grazed ones at 45 min (33.1 vs. 30.5 °C) and 6 h (21.0 vs. 19.5 °C) post-mortem. Feedlot-finished steers produced beef with higher (P = 0.003) marbling scores (3.4) than grazed ones (2.4). As a result, beef from the feedlot-finished steers was more tender (P = 0.016) than that from grazed ones, and it required 13 N less force to shear. It is concluded that TSHZ responds positively to improved feeding with significant enhancement on carcass gain and meat quality. Use of diets compounded using agro-processing by-products, instead of whole grain, can lower the cost of finishing TSHZ steers significantly.
一项研究在汉昂区进行，以评估在旱季使用当地可用饲料资源在农场进行坦桑尼亚短角牛（TSHZ）育肥的潜力。共有 65 头（2-3 岁，150-250 公斤活重）公牛被随机分配到三个村庄的两个饮食处理中。这些牛要么在饲料棚中使用复合饲料进行育肥，要么按照农民的做法自由放牧。经过 90 天的饲养，所有的牛都被屠宰，进行详细的胴体和肉质评估。实验动物的生长性能、胴体和肉质被评估，以确定 TSHZ 的育肥性能。结果表明，饲养在饲料棚中的动物的平均日增重（620 克/天）几乎是放牧牛的三倍（P=0.042）（223 克/天）。饲养在饲料棚中的牛产生的胴体比放牧的牛重 28 公斤（P=0.001）。饲养在饲料棚中的牛的胴体冷却缓慢，因为它们的温度比放牧的牛高（P=0.001），在 45 分钟（33.1 对 30.5°C）和 6 小时（21.0 对 19.5°C）后。饲养在饲料棚中的牛生产的牛肉大理石纹评分（3.4）高于放牧的牛（2.4）。因此，饲养在饲料棚中的牛的牛肉更嫩（P=0.016），剪切所需的力少 13N。研究结果表明，TSHZ 对改善饲养反应积极，显著提高了胴体增重和肉质。使用农业加工副产品而不是全谷物配制的日粮可以显著降低育肥 TSHZ 牛的成本。
