Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T01:59:27.320Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Feed deprivation in Merino and Terminal sired lambs: (2) the metabolic response under pre-slaughter conditions and impact on meat quality and carcass yield

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2018

S. M. Stewart ,
P. McGilchrist ,
G. E. Gardner  and
D. W. Pethick
S. M. Stewart*
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary & Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
P. McGilchrist
Affiliation:
School of Environmental & Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
G. E. Gardner
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary & Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
D. W. Pethick
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary & Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
*
†E-mail: S.Stewart@murdoch.edu.au
Get access

Abstract

Under current Australian industry pre-slaughter guidelines, lambs may be off feed for up to 48 h before slaughter. The purpose of this study was to examine what proportion of circulating metabolites at slaughter are due to stress and feed deprivation and if this response differs between Merino and Terminal genotypes. In addition the effect of feed deprivation on carcass weight and meat quality was examined. Jugular blood samples were collected from 88 Merino and Terminal sired lambs at rest and at slaughter following 24, 36 and 48 h of feed deprivation and plasma analysed for glucose, lactate, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and β-hydroxybutyrate (BHOB). From the same carcasses hot carcass weight (HCWT) were measured as well as a suite of meat quality traits measured such as M. longissimus lumborum (loin) and M. semitendinosus pH at 24 h postmortem. Loin samples were also analysed for intramuscular fat content and Warner–Bratzer Shear Force. Merino sired lambs had a higher NEFA response compared to Terminal sired lambs at slaughter after 24, 36 and 48 h of feed deprivation, with NEFA levels up to 35% higher than previously reported in the same animals at rest in animal house conditions, whereas BHOB response to feed deprivation was not affected by sire type (P>0.05) and similar to previously reported at rest. In addition to the metabolic effects, increasing feed deprivation from 36 h was associated with a 3% reduction in HCWT and dressing percentage as well as causing increased ultimate pH in the M. semitendinosus in Merino sired lambs. Findings from this study demonstrate that Merino and Terminal sired lambs differ in their metabolic response to feed deprivation under commercial slaughter conditions. In addition, commercial feed deprivation appears to have a negative effect on ultimate pH and carcass weight and warrants further investigation.

Keywords

non-esterified fatty acidβ-hydroxybutyratenutritional restrictioncurfewcarcass weight
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 13 , Issue 7 , July 2019 , pp. 1468 - 1477
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, F, Williams, A, Pannier, L, Pethick, DW and Gardner, GE 2015. Sire carcass breeding values affect body composition in lambs — 1. Effects on lean weight and its distribution within the carcass as measured by computed tomography. Meat Science 108, 145–154.Google Scholar
Anonymous 2005. Handbook of Australian meat International red meat manual, 4th edition. AUSMEAT, Sydney, Australia.Google Scholar
Bassett, J 1970. Metabolic effects of catecholamines in sheep. Australian Journal of Biological Sciences 23, 903–914.Google Scholar
Boisclair, YR, Johnston, KB, Bauman, DE, Crooker, BA, Dunshea, FR and Bell, AW 1997. Paradoxical increases of circulating non-esterified fatty acids in somatotropin treated cattle undergoing mild disturbances. Domestic Animal Endocrinology 14, 251–262.Google Scholar
Bray, A, Graafhuis, A and Chrystall, B 1989. The cumulative effect of nutritional, shearing and pre-slaughter washing stresses on the quality of lamb meat. Meat Science 25, 59–67.Google Scholar
Brockman, RP and Laarveld, B 1986. Hormonal regulation of metabolism in ruminants; a review. Livestock Production Science 14, 313–334.Google Scholar
Butterfield, RM 1988. New concept of sheep growth. University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.Google Scholar
Cameron, N 1992. Correlated physiological responses to selection for carcass lean content in sheep. Livestock Production Science 30, 53–68.Google Scholar
Carr, TR, Allen, DM and Phar, P 1971. Effect of pre-slaughter fasting on bovine carcass yield and quality. Journal of Animal Science 32, 870–873.Google Scholar
Chilliard, Y, Ferlay, A, Faulconnier, Y, Bonnet, M, Rouel, J and Bocquier, F 2000. Adipose tissue metabolism and its role in adaptations to undernutrition in ruminants. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 59, 127–134.Google Scholar
Daly, BL, Gardner, GE, Ferguson, DM and Thompson, JM 2006. The effect of time off feed prior to slaughter on muscle glycogen metabolism and rate of pH decline in three different muscles of stimulated and non-stimulated sheep carcasses. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 57, 1229–1235.Google Scholar
Ferguson, DM and Warner, RD 2008. Have we underestimated the impact of pre-slaughter stress on meat quality in ruminants? Meat Science 80, 12–19.Google Scholar
Fogarty, NM, Banks, RG, van de Werf, JHJ, Ball, AJ and Gibson, JP 2007. The information nucleus – a new concept to enhance sheep industry genetic improvement. In Proceedings of the 17th Association for Advancement of Animal Breeding and Genetics, 6–12 April 2007, Armidale, NSW, Australia, pp. 29–32.Google Scholar
Gardner, G, Kennedy, L, Milton, J and Pethick, D 1999. Glycogen metabolism and ultimate pH of muscle in Merino, first-cross, and second-cross wether lambs as affected by stress before slaughter. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 50, 175–182.Google Scholar
Gardner, GE, Hopkins, DL, Greenwood, PL, Cake, MA, Boyce, MD and Pethick, DW 2007. Sheep genotype, age and muscle type affect the expression of metabolic enzyme markers. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 47, 1180–1189.Google Scholar
Greenwood, P, Gardner, G and Hegarty, R 2006. Lamb myofibre characteristics are influenced by sire estimated breeding values and pastoral nutritional system. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 57, 627–639.Google Scholar
Harris, RA 1992. Carbohydrate metabolism I: major metabolic pathways and their control. In Textbook of biochemistry: with clinical correlations (ed. TM Devlin), pp. 291–358. Wiley-Liss, New York, NY, USA.Google Scholar
Hocquette, JF, Ortigues-Marty, I, Pethick, D, Herpin, P and Fernandez, X 1998. Nutritional and hormonal regulation of energy metabolism in skeletal muscles of meat-producing animals. Livestock Production Science 56, 115–143.Google Scholar
Hopkins, DL, Toohey, ES, Warner, RD, Kerr, MJ and van de Ven, R 2010. Measuring the shear force of lamb meat cooked from frozen samples: comparison of two laboratories. Animal Production Science 50, 382–385.Google Scholar
Jacob, R, Pethick, D and Chapman, H 2005a. Muscle glycogen concentrations in commercial consignments of Australian lamb measured on farm and post-slaughter after three different lairage periods. Animal Production Science 45, 543–552.Google Scholar
Jacob, R, Walker, P, Skerritt, J, Davidson, R, Hopkins, D, Thompson, J and Pethick, D 2005b. The effect of lairage time on consumer sensory scores of the M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum from lambs and lactating ewes. Animal Production Science 45, 535–542.Google Scholar
Jacob, RH, Gardner, GE and Pethick, DW 2009. Repletion of glycogen in muscle is preceded by repletion of glycogen in the liver of Merino hoggets. Animal Production Science 49, 131–138.Google Scholar
Kirton, A, Clarke, J and Carter, A 1967. Effect of pre-slaughter fasting on liveweight, carcass weight, and carcass composition of Southdown ram lambs. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 10, 43–55.Google Scholar
Kirton, A, Quartermain, A, Uljee, A, Carter, W and Pickering, F 1968. Effect of 1 and 2 days’ ante-mortem fasting on live weight and carcass losses in lambs. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 11, 891–902.Google Scholar
Martin, K, McGilchrist, P, Thompson, J and Gardner, G 2011. Progeny of high muscling sires have reduced muscle response to adrenaline in sheep. Animal 5, 1060–1070.Google Scholar
McGilchrist, P, Pethick, DW, Bonny, SPF, Greenwood, PL and Gardner, GE 2011. Beef cattle selected for increased muscularity have a reduced muscle response and increased adipose tissue response to adrenaline. Animal 5, 875–884.Google Scholar
Pearce, KL, van de Ven, R, Mudford, C, Warner, RD, Hocking-Edwards, J, Jacob, R, Pethick, DW and Hopkins, DL 2010. Case studies demonstrating the benefits on pH and temperature decline of optimising medium-voltage electrical stimulation of lamb carcasses. Animal Production Science 50, 1107–1114.Google Scholar
Perry, D, Shorthose, WR, Ferguson, DM and Thompson, JM 2001. Methods used in the CRC program for the determination of carcass yield and beef quality. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 41, 953–957.Google Scholar
Pethick, D 1993. Carbohydrate and lipid oxidation during exercise. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 44, 431–441.Google Scholar
Pethick, D, Harper, G and Dunshea, F 2005. Fat metabolism and turnover. In quantitative aspects of ruminant digestion and metabolism (ed. JM Forbes and J Dijkstra), pp. 345–371. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.Google Scholar
Pointon, A, Kiermeier, A and Fegan, N 2012. Review of the impact of pre-slaughter feed curfews of cattle, sheep and goats on food safety and carcase hygiene in Australia. Food Control 26, 313–321.Google Scholar
Stewart, SM, McGilchrist, P, Gardner, GE and Pethick, DW 2014. Concentrations of NEFA, lactate and glucose in lambs are different to cattle at slaughter. In Proceedings of the 65th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Animal Production, 25–28 August 2014, Copenhagen, Denmark, pp. 228.Google Scholar
Stewart, SM, McGilchrist, P, Gardner, GE and Pethick, DW 2018. Feed deprivation in Merino, and Terminal sired lambs (1) The metabolic effect under resting conditions. Animal, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731118002975. Google Scholar
Tarrant, P 1989. Animal behaviour and environment in the dark-cutting condition in beef-a review. Irish Journal of Food Science and Technology 13, 1–21.Google Scholar
Thompson, JM, O’Halloran, WJ, McNeill, DMJ, Jackson-Hope, NJ and May, TJ 1987. The effect of fasting on live weight and carcass characteristics in lambs. Meat Science 20, 293–309.Google Scholar
Toohey, E and Hopkins, D 2006. Effects of lairage time and electrical stimulation on sheep meat quality. Animal Production Science 46, 863–867.Google Scholar
van de Werf, JHJ, Kinghorn, B and Banks, RG 2010. Design and role of an information nucleus in sheep breeding programs. Animal Production Science 50, 998–1003.Google Scholar
Warriss, P, Bevis, E, Brown, S and Ashby, J 1989. An examination of potential indices of fasting time in commercially slaughtered sheep. British Veterinary Journal 145, 242–248.Google Scholar
Warriss, PD, Brown, SN, Bevis, EA, Kestin, SC and Young, CS 1987. Influence of food withdrawal at various times pre-slaughter on carcass yield and meat quality in sheep. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 39, 325–334.Google Scholar