Comparative study on Live Weight and Carcass Percentage of Four Indigenous Cattle Breed in Abergelle Export Abattoir, Northern Ethiopia

Transcription

1 Comparative study on Live Weight and Carcass Percentage of Four Indigenous Cattle Breed in Abergelle Export Abattoir, Northern Ethiopia Hassan Adow Issack 1, Abrha Bsrat 2*, Netsanet Berhe 2, Gebremedhin Hailay 3 and Merhawit Reda 2 1 South west Livestock Professional Association, Bay, Somalia 2 Mekelle University College of Veterinary Medicine, Mekelle, Ethiopia 3 Mekelle University Business Enterprise, Mekelle, Ethiopia *Corresponding Author: Abrha Bsrat, abrhish@gmail.com ABSTRACT The study was undertaken from August to November 2017 to compare dressing value of cattle breeds (Begait, Abergelle, Arado and Raya) slaughter at Abergelle abattoir as indicators for meat production potential. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select the study animals (n=300). Data on quantitative measurements were collected before and after slaughtering of the sampled oxen from the four selected cattle breeds slaughtered during the study visit. The mean live weight of oxen of Begait, Abergelle, Arado and Raya were recorded to be kg, kg, kg and kg, respectively. The mean warm weight of slaughtered oxen of Begait, Abergelle, Arado and Raya were recorded to be kg, kg, kg and kg, respectively while mean cold weight of slaughtered oxen of Begait, Abergelle, Arado and Raya were recorded to be kg, kg, kg and kg respectively. Hence, relatively higher mean (±SE) warm carcass percentage was recorded from Abergelle (44.90%; SE, 1.33; CL, ) followed by Begait (44.09%; SE, 0.32; CL, ). However, higher mean (±SE) cold carcass percentage was recorded from Begait breeds (43.18%; SE, 0.31; CI, ) followed by Abergelle (42.83%; SE, 0.48; CI, ). Generally, in the current study comparatively higher dressing percentage was recorded from Begait breed followed by Raya breed. Hence, it can be conclude that these two breed could be potential beef breeds in Northern Ethiopia. However, detailed longitudinal research is required. Key words: Cattle, Carcass weight, Dressing percentage, live weight, Abergelle, North Ethiopia. INTRODUCTION Livestock still play great role to rural incomes, nutrition and food security, and resilience in smallholder mixed crop/livestock and pastoral systems in developing world. For instance, in most African countries 60%- 80% of rural households keep livestock as mobile and liquid assets, income generators, and for household food security and nutrition (Alexandratos and Bruinsma, 2012). Importance of cattle breeds is arising in most African countries by increasing local and international demand associated with increasing population pressure, land scarcity, diminishing production resources, poverty and hunger (Bett et al., 2009) Ethiopia has a total 59.5 million heads of cattle among which 44.5% are male cattle (CSA, 2017), which represents the largest cattle population in Africa (Negassa et al., 2011) and 6th in the world. Cattle fulfill several functions in the Ethiopian economy among which direct food as beef, traction power, cash income, hides, fuel and organic fertilizer. According to Teshager et.al. (2013), beef 17

2 production in Ethiopia in agro-pastoral and pastoral production systems, and/or in both rural and urban areas is emerging as an important source of income as well. Cattle production in Ethiopia contributes about 80% of livestock part in GDP of the country (Tefera, 2011). The Ethiopian indigenous cattle breed so far identified are 25 namely: Arsi, Begait, Ogaden, Borena,Goffa, Arado, Nuer, Gurage, Jidu, Karayu/ Afar, Harar, Horro, Smada, Fogera, Mursi, Raya Azebo, Adwa, Jem-Jem, Sheko, Ambo, Jijiga, Bale, Hammer, Medense and Abergelle (IBC, 2004). In addition, some reports indicate that recently four new cattle types (Babbawa, Jiddu, Red Bororo and Tigray) are identified in the country. However, the newly identified cattle types are not well studied clearly as to which group they belong (Workneh et al., 2004). However, their dressing percentage is not well studied to compare their meat yield. Loss during chilling due to lowering of water content of the meat with breed variation needs detailed study. The annual contribution of ruminants to meat production in Ethiopia is estimated at over 3.2 million tones, representing over 72% of the total meat production. Cattle meat accounts for over 70% of the total red meat production and over 50% of the total meat output in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2016/17, about 0.5 million cattle population had been slaughtered in Ethiopia among which 0.27 million were males (CSA, 2017). According to CSA (2017), cattle population in Tigray is estimated to be 4.79 million, which is higher than the population of sheep and goats. Among the cattle population in the region 2.35 million are males. Oxen are critical animals in majority of the crop- livestock mixed farming area of the region since framers use oxen as a draught power in addition to using it for beef. Most of the cattle population is indigenous although there are few exotic cattle breeds imported from abroad. There are six major types of cattle breeds namely: Abergelle, Afar, Arrado, Begait, Fogera, Raya, and Medense (IBC, 2004). However, little has been known about their production potential in order to identify best breed for further selection activities. Hence, detailed study on live weight, carcass yield and meat quality seems crucial for further economic improvement and meet export market standard (Sebside, 2008). The objective of the current investigation was therefore to assess comparative dressing value of cattle breeds (Begait, Abergelle, Arado and Raya) slaughtered at Abergelle abattoir as indicators for meat production potential. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study Area The study was conducted at Abergelle International export abattoir. The abattoir is located at north Mekelle city, the capital city of Tigray regional state, and is located at distance of 783km north of Addis Ababa. Abergelle International export abattoir is located at geographic coordinates of 13 o o 90 N and 39 o o 06 E. Abergelle international export abattoir is equipped with modern facilities as large cold rooms, vacuum packing, solid and liquid waste treatment. More than 95% of its product is designated for export to the Middle East countries. At full production, the abattoir has a processing capacity more than 30 tons of beef and 10 tons of sheep and goat meat per day. Besides, the abattoir is also creating market opportunity to people engaged in animal husbandry and fattening (FEMLE, 2010). 18

3 Study Animals Study reference of the current study were all oxen brought to Abergelle abattoir during the study period while study animals were all oxen that came to the abattoir on the purposively selected two days (Monday and Friday) per week for the two study months. A total of 300 indigenous beef breeds were categorized to be Abergelle, Begait, Arado and Raya using phenotypic characterization set by DAGRIS (2006) were accessed in the abattoir during the study period. Study Design Cross-sectional study design was employed using purposive sampling technique. Data Collection Two days per week (Monday and Friday) for two consecutive months (October and November) were selected purposively for data collection. The two days (Monday and Friday) were considered based up on number of oxen coming to the abattoir per day and willingness of owners to access the required data following pre-assessment to see convenient days. All animals coming to the abattoir during the selected days were sampled. Data collection consisted of quantitative measurements at ante-mortem and post-mortem. Ante-mortem parameters were age (identified using their teeth), breed, body condition score and live body weight whereas hot and cold carcass weight were collected as post-mortem parameters. Standard slaughtering time from stunning of oxen to transferring of dressed carcass to chilling room in the abattoir lasts for 50 minutes. Warm Carcass weight was considered weight of the carcass immediately after removing the skin, head, forefeet, hind feet, viscera, fat deposits, and tests before transferring to chilling room while cold carcass weight was measured as weight recorded after 8 hours of chilling at -2 C. Carcass weight was recorded using electronic weighing scale in kilogram. Data Analysis All data collected at ante-mortem and post-mortem was entered and organized using Microsoft excel. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the results. Furthermore, mean, standard error (SE), and confidence interval (CI) were used for comparison among selected parameters. Paired t- test was used to see the significance difference between warm carcass weight immediately after slaughter and cold carcass weight. RESULTS During the current study, average live weight during slaughter at an average age of 4.94 was recorded to be Kg (SE: 2.07; CI: ) while the warm carcass weight was (SE: 1.09; CI: ) (Table 1). Majority of the oxen (92.00%) brought to the abattoir during the study period had good body condition followed by medium (7.00%) and poor (1.00%) body condition. Higher average live weight was recorded from Raya breed in the current study (327.33; SE: 3.44; CI: ) followed by Begait (324.04; SE: 4.47; CI: ) (Table 2). Higher average warm carcass weight was recorded from Abergelle breed in the current study (144.13; SE: 5.50; CI: ) followed by Begait (142.90; SE: 0.10; CI: ) (Table 3). Higher average cold carcass weight was recorded from Begait breed in the current study 19

4 (139.94; SE: 2.22; CI: ) followed by Raya (138.47; SE: 1.64; CI: ) (Table 4). During the current investigation, higher average warm carcass percentage was measured from Abergelle breed (44.90; SE: 1.33; CI: ) followed by Begait (44.09; SE: 0.32; CI: ) (Table 5). However, higher average cold carcass percentage was recorded from Begait breed (43.18; SE: 0.31; CI: ) followed by Abergelle (42.83; SE: 0.48; CI: ) (Table 6). A significance difference was recorded in an overall warm and cold carcass weight of the cattle breeds slaughter at Abergelle abattoir (P<0.05) with relatively higher average weight of the warm carcass weight compared to cold carcass weight and similar significant difference was observed in each breed except for Abergelle (Table 7). DISCUSSION During the current study, body condition score, live weight, warm weight and cold weight of four cattle breeds slaughtered at Abergelle abattoir was recorded. Accordingly, most of the study oxen were found with good body condition at an average age of 4.94 years which is in disagreement with previous findings of Agga et al. (2011) who indicated a poor body condition score for Raya and Arado breeds of the same age in Ethiopia. The overall mean of live weight and warm carcass weight of the study breeds were comparable with an overall live weight and warm carcass weight of , , respectively reported from Arado and Begait under extensive management system by Terefe et al. (2013). The current study recorded highest live weight from Raya breed as compared to other three breeds. This might be due to their age difference, fattening time, time variation between their arrival from their original place and slaughter period. However, Mekasha et al. (2008) reported as Begait breed had highest live body weight during slaughter which could be due to various reasons such as study methods used, age at slaughtering, farming system and sample size variation. On the other side, the current finding indicated higher average cold carcass weight from Begait breed that indicates low loss during chilling. In line to this Keane (2001) reported that Begait carcass weight gain is much better than other breeds. The difference in warm and cold carcass weight were observed among the four breeds of cattle which could probably be explained by the moisture content differences available on the hot carcass of the animals before chilling and the average temperature required for specific breed and currently used to chill the meat which was similar in the current study. This was found in agreement with previous reports indicated a higher cold carcass weight of 140.1kg (cold carcass percentage of 43.18) (Terefe et al., 2013), and a cold carcass percentage of (Jabar et al., 2002) for Begait breed kept under extensive farming system. However, Rahaman (2007) reported Raya breed with highest warm weight and justified that differences in livestock management practices are clearly reflected in the relative warm weight gain. Besides, meat production potential in animals can also vary with age and breed difference (Trytsman, 2003). The current study showed slightly higher dressing percentage in Begait breed followed by Raya breed although higher live weight was recorded from Raya breed followed by Begait. Hence, it can be conclude that these two breeds could be potential beef breeds in Northern Ethiopia. However, detailed longitudinal investigation is required. COMPETING INTEREST: 20

5 The authors declare that they have no competing interests. AUTHORS' CONTRIBUTIONS All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript. HAI, AB, NB, GH and MR conceived the study. HAI, AB, GH generated the idea, developed scientific proposal, performed field work. HAI, AB and NB analyzed the data, and prepared the paper. MR participated on data compiling and paper writing. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors are thankful to Mekelle University and Abergelle export abattoir for allowing us their facilities to perform the investigation. Staffs of the Abergelle export abattoir are acknowledged for their cooperation to obtain all possible data during the study. REFRENCES Agga, G., Udala. E., Regassa, F. & Wudie, A Body measurement of oxen of the different breeds in Ethiopia and their correlation to breed, age and testicular measurements. Large Ruminant Research, 95: Alexandratos, N. & Bruinsma, J World Agriculture towards 2030/2050. The 2012 Revision. ESA Working Paper No FAO. Bett, R. C., Kosgey, I. S., Kahib, A. K. & Petersa, K. J Realities in breed improvement progrmmes for dairy cattle in East and Central Africa. Large Ruminant Research, 85: CSA, Central Statistical Agency. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Central Statistical Agency. Report On Livestock And Livestock Characteristics. DAGRIS, Domestic Animal Genetic Resources Information System Rege JEO, Ayalew W, Getahun E, Hanotte O, Dessie T (eds). International Livestock Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. FEMLE, Focus on Ethiopia s meat and live animal export. Highlight of Ethiopia s meat and live animal export performance. Trade Bulletin Issue 1. Pp 1-4. IBC, Institute of Biodiversity Conservation. The State of Ethiopia's Farm Animal Genetic Resources: Country Report. A Contribution to the First Report on the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources. IBC, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Jabbar, M.A. & Benin, S Trader behavior and transaction costs. In: Live animal marketing in Ethiopia. Paper presented at the workshop on improved land management and agricultural market development in the Ethiopian highlands. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February Pp. 23. Keane, M. G Effects of feeding level and duration on finishing performance and slaughter traits of Begait bulls. Journal of Agricultural and Food Research, 40: Mekasha, Y., Tegegne, A., Abera, A. & Rodrigues-Martines, H Body size and Testicular Traits of Tropically-adapted Bucks Raised Under Extensive Husbandry in Ethiopia. Reprod. Dom. Anim., 43(2): Doi: /j Negassa, A & Jabbar, M Livestock ownership, Commercial off-take rates and their determinants in Ethiopia. ILRI and Texas A & M University system. P

6 Rahaman, M. D. F Prediction of live weight and carcass weight from the body characteristics of ruminants. International Journal of Agricultural Biology, 9 (3): Sebside, A Sheep and Goat characteristics and quality. Economic significance of sheep and goats. In: Alemu, Y. and merkel, R.C. (Eds): ESGPIP (Ethiopian Sheep and Goat Productivity Improvement Program); Sheep and Goat production Handbook for Ethiopia. Pp Terefe, E., Y., Dessalegn, K., Tafa, A., Kifle, A., Gebregziabher, W. & Tesfamariam W Meat weight and carcass characteristics of indigenous cattle breeds under semi-intensive feeding management. International journal of animal production, 4 (6): Tefera, M Oxenization versus Tractorization: Options and Constraints for Ethiopia Farming System. International Journal Sustainable Agriculture, 3(1): ISSN IDOSI Publications, Teshager, A., Belay, D. & Taye, T Traditional Cattle Fattening and Live Animal Marketing System in Different Agro-Ecologies of Ilu Aba Bora Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia; Global Veterinaria, 10 (5): , Trytsman, G. & Mappledoram, B Overwintering livestock in rural sourveld regions. Proceedings of the VIIth International Rangeland Congress, South Africa, Durban, Pp Workneh, A. & Rowlands, J Design, execution and analysis of the livestock breed survey in Oromiya Regional State, Ethiopia. OADB (Oromiya Agricultural Development Bureau), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute), Nairobi, Kenya. 22

7 Table 1: Overall mean parameters of cattle breeds slaughtered at Abergelle abattoir (n=300), 2017 Mean (Kg) SE [95% CI] Live weight during slaughter [ ] Warm weight [ ] age [ ] Cold weight [ ] Warm carcass Percentage [ ] Cold carcass Percentage [ ] SE: Standard Error; CI: Confidence Interval Table 2: The breed wise average live weight of study cattle prior to slaughter at Abergelle abattoir, 2017 Begait [ ] Abergelle [ ] Arado [ ] Raya [ ] All type [ ] CI: Confidence Interval Table 3: The breed wise average warm weight of cattle slaughtered at Abergelle abattoir, 2017 Begait [ ] Abergelle [ ] Arado [ ] Raya [ ] All Breed [ ] Table 4: The breed wise average cold carcass weight of cattle slaughtered by breed at Abergelle abattoir, 2017 Begait [ ] Abergelle [ ] Arado [ ] Raya [ ] All [ ] 23

8 Table 5: The average warm carcass percentage of cattle slaughtered at Abergelle abattoir by breed, 2017 Begait [ ] Abergelle [ ] Arado [ ] Raya [ ] All [ ] Table 6: The average cold carcass percentage of cattle slaughtered at Abergelle abattoir by breed, 2017 Begait [ ] Abergelle [ ] Arado [ ] Raya [ ] All [ ] Table 7: Comparison between the means of cold and warm carcass weight of cattle slaughtered at Abergelle abattoir by breed, 2017 Breed Carcass weight n Mean SE [95% CI] t P(t) Begait WCW [ ] CCW [ ] Abergelle WCW [ ] CCW [ ] Arado WCW [ ] CCW [ ] Raya WCW [ ] CCW [ ] All WCW [ ] CCW WCW: warm carcass weight; CCW: cold carcass weight 24