Abstract

Eighteen entire male Saanen goats (liveweight range 5 to 115 kg; carcass weight range 2 to 52 kg; age range young to mature) and 19 female (liveweight range 17 to 64 kg; carcass weight range 8 to 32 kg age range several months to mature) were slaughtered. Carcasses were dissected into fat, muscle and bone. Based on allometric regression relationships an increase in carcass weight from 10 to 30 kg was accompanied by a decline in carcass muscle from 60.5 to 59.9% for the males, but from 61.8 to 51.5% for females. The greater decline in muscle content for the female carcasses reflected an increase in carcass fat content from 10.6 to 33.7%, while for male carcasses the increase was only from 11.7 to 15.5%. Over the same increase in carcass weight, carcass bone decreased from 24.7 to 14.1% for females, but only from 23.4 to 20.4% for males.

ND, Grace, AD Beach, TD Quinlivan, and B Ward

Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, Volume 49, , 107-112, 1989