Southern African Large Frame Indigenous Veld Goat and Boer Goat Wether and Buck Tenderness and Colour of Six Muscles

Meat tenderness, water holding capacity (WHC) and colour attributes of six muscles (Longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL), Semimembranosus (SM), Biceps femoris (BF), Supraspinatus (SS), Infraspinatus (IS), Semitendinosus (ST)) from large frame Indigenous Veld Goats (IVG) and Boer Goats (BG) were studied. Weaner male Boer Goats (BG; n = 18; 10 bucks and 8 wethers) and large frame Indigenous Veld Goats (IVG; n = 19; 9 bucks and 10 wethers) were raised on hay and natural grass, and on a commercial pelleted diet to a live weight of 30 - 35 kg. All goats were slaughtered at a commercial abattoir and the dressed carcasses chilled at 4°C within 1-hour post-mortem. The muscles were dissected from both sides 24-hours post-mortem and aged for 1-day and 4-days. Variations in meat characteristics such as ultimate pH, WHC, percentage purge, myofibril fragment length, intramuscular fat, connective tissue characteristics, and Warner-Bratzler shear force. Bucks had higher L* and Hue-angle values, whereas wethers had increased a* and Chroma values. The muscle baseline-data will allow informed decisions to support muscle-specific marketing strategies, which may be used to improve consumer acceptability of chevon.

Effect of milking time, lactation stage and udder traits on milk yield of Red Sokoto and Boer goats in semi-arid, Nigeria

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of milking time, lactation stage and udder traits on milk yield of Red Sokoto and Boer goats at the farm of Centre for Dry-land Agriculture, Bayero University Kano, Nigeria. The first evaluation of milk yield was done at early stage of lactation starting after day seven of kidding to exclude colostrum. Daily collection of milk samples followed in the morning and evening until 10 weeks of lactation. The weeks were divided into 3 stages of lactation as early, mid and late lactation stages. Milk samples were measured using a 100 mL measuring cylinder and later converted into grammes. The external udder measurements were taken in cm after seven days post kidding and fortnightly for the period of lactation. The result obtained shows significant difference (p<0.05) in the total morning milk yield between the goats. The total morning milk yield was higher (2642.00 ± 3.18 g) in the Boer goats than in the Red Sokoto (2371.50± 3.18 g). However, the average daily milk yield, total milk yield and total evening milk yield were not significantly (p>0.05) affected by the breeds of goat. Mean milk yield was significantly (p<0.05) influenced by stage of lactation and time of milking. The milk yield was significantly higher (98.91 g) in the late lactation while the least was obtained in the mid stage of lactation (65.44 g). Moreover, the morning milk yield was significantly higher than the evening milk yield. A significant interaction effect (p<0.05) of lactation stage and milking time was similarly observed. The results indicated that breed significantly (p<0.05) influenced most of the udder traits except UC, UW and TFD. Significantly (p<0.05) higher values of UL, UW, TC, RTL, LTL, CH and TFD were recorded in the Red Sokoto. Furthermore, the Boer goat breed had significantly higher values of NT, UC and DBT. Le but de l'étude était d'évaluer l'effet de la traite de traite, de la phase de lactation et des traits de la piste sur le rendement du lait de Red Sokoto et des chèvres de Boer à la ferme du Centre d'agriculture à sec, de l'Université Bayero Kano, du Nigéria. La première évaluation du rendement en lait a été effectuée à un stade précoce de l'allaitement à partir de sept jours de blague pour exclure le colostrum. La collecte quotidienne d'échantillons de lait a suivi le matin et le soir jusqu'à 10 semaines de lactation. Les semaines ont été divisées en 3 étapes de la lactation comme des étapes de début et de lactation tardive. Les échantillons de lait ont été mesurés à l'aide d'un cylindre de mesure de 100 ml et convertis ultérieurement en grammes. Les mensurations externes de la mamelle ont été prises en cm après sept jours après la mise bas et tous les quinze jours pendant la période de lactation. Le résultat obtenu présente une différence significative (p <0,05) dans le rendement le lait total du matin entre les chèvres. Le rendement au lait total du matin était plus élevé (2642,00 ± 3,18 g) dans les chèvres Boer que dans le Sokoto rouge (2371.50 ± 3,18 g). Cependant, le rendement quotidien moyen quotidien, le rendement total du lait et le rendement au lait total de la soirée n'étaient pas significativement (p> 0,05) affectés par les races de chèvre. Le rendement en lait moyen était significativement (p <0,05) influencé par la phase de lactation et du temps de traite. Le rendement en lait était significativement plus élevé (98,91 g) à la fin de la lactation, tandis que le moindre a été obtenu au stade moyen de la lactation (65,44 g). De plus, le rendement au lait du matin était nettement supérieur au rendement le lait du soir. Un effet d'interaction significatif (P <0,05) de stade de lactation et de délai de traite a été observé de la même manière. Les résultats ont indiqué que la race de manière significative (p <0,05) a influencé la plupart des traits de pis de la piste, à l'exception des UC, UW et TFD. De manière significative (p <0,05) des valeurs plus élevées d'UL, UW, TC, RTL, LTL, CH et TFD ont été enregistrées dans le Red Sokoto. De plus, la race de chèvre Boer avait des valeurs significativement plus élevées de NT, UC et DBT.

Systematic factors and individual variation affecting litter size of Boer and Jawarandu goat cross

We studied the systematic factors and individual variation affecting litter size in the crossbreds between Boer and Jawarandu goat. The data were obtained from the records of litter size of Boerja goats from 2012 to 2015. The systematic factors consisted of season and year of birth, doe breeds and the kid’s sex; along with individual data including pedigree, date of birth, and parental breeds. The data consisted of 107 Boer does, 687 Jawarandu does, and 495 Boerja does with a total of 3804 kids. A linear model was developed to account the effect of systematic factors on litter size of Boerja goats. Later, a mixed model was solved with Restricted Maximum Likelihood (REML) method to estimate the individual variations on litter size. The results showed that litter size trait in goat was influenced by doe breed (P<0.05). Individual variation of this trait was also high (46%). Based on this research, it can be concluded that litter size of Boer goats and their crosses were affected by the doe’s breed with high individual variation. Doe’s selection is potential to improve liter size in goat crossbred population in the future.

A review on the trend of livestock breeds in Laos

When the livestock sector is considered an essential role in farmers' livelihood, and local breeds are still the critical component of animal breeding in Laos. Thus, there is a need to review the previous, current situation and prospects for Laos' livestock production. It aimed to study the different traits among the existing dominant local and improved livestock breeds (cattle, pig, and goat) and a more in-depth study on the livestock sector's previous evolving and prospects. Our findings revealed that the general trend of livestock population in Laos increased year-by-year for over 45 years, except for 1995 to 2000. It was decreased by almost 22% due to the new national strategy on economic revolution. The first foreign breeds were introduced into Laos, i.e., Large White, Landrace, and Duroc in 1980, Red Sindhi bulls in 1998, the frozen semen of Red Brahman 2003, and Bach Thao goats between 2001 to 2003. Unfortunately, many data are still not precise for introducing other foreign breeds like Boer goats, Thai Grey and Red Brahman. There were many missing data on the improvement of livestock breeds in Laos, including the local and improved breeds' reproductive and productive performance, which needs more study and research. We conclude that the semi-complex farm operation should be applied to improve livestock breeding and their productions in Laos.

Carcass Traits of Growing Meat Goats Fed Different Levels of Hempseed Meal

Industrial hemp is currently being investigated as a potential new crop in the U.S. with the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills passage. Hemp seeds are utilized to produce hemp oil and result in Hempseed Meal (HSM) production, rich in crude protein and fiber, making it an ideal candidate as a feedstuff for ruminant animals. This study evaluated the effects of feeding different levels of HSM on the carcass traits and meat quality of crossbred Boer goats. Forty castrated male goat kids with an initial average body weight of 25.63±.33 kg and approximately six months of age and kg were assigned to one of four treatments (n = 10) in a completely randomized design. Goats were fed pelleted diets (50% forage and 50% concentrate). Treatments consisted of different levels of HSM: control with 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% HSM supplementation of the total diets. The goats were harvested, and carcasses were processed at the Lambert-Powell Meat Laboratory at Auburn University after a 60-d feeding trial. Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedures of SAS 9.4 (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC). There were no significant differences (P &gt; 0.05) on the mean values of dressing percentages (46.59, 45.42, 45.77, and 46.16% for 0, 10, 20 and 30% HSM, respectively) and ribeye area (3.68, 3.4, 3.47, 3.39 inches, respectively). The percentage of moisture, fats, proteins, and collagen in the muscles showed no significant difference (P &gt; 0.05) between the different levels of HSM-containing diets. The marbling scores (376, 399, 355, 364 respectively) were also not significantly different (P &gt; 0.05) among the treatments and are representative of marbling scores indicative of “slight.” Results suggest that producers can include up to 30% of HSM in the diets of growing meat goats without creating a detrimental effect on carcass traits.