Meat production performance in young yaks

Abstract

There is given the evaluation of meat production performance of young yaks at 18 months of age. Investigations were carried out in the Republic of Tuva in 2015. The two groups of young yaks were formed: the first group is the young stock obtained from grunting cows of the second and third calving with the highest characteristics of live weight (280 kg), conformation, and calf accretion; the second group is the young stock obtained from grunting cows of the second and third calving with the medium characteristics of live weight (260 kg), conformation, and calf accretion. A common farming practice in Tuva is the year-round outdoor keeping of yaks at feed. Meat production performances in male yaks of the first group were higher than those in the second group: preslaughter weight higher by 22.1 kg, or 10.5%; carcass weight by 12.1 kg, or 11.7%; slaughter weight by 12.7 kg, or 12%. Morphological examinations of carcass composition showed that male yaks of the first group had higher muscular tissue content than that in the second group by 9.2 kg, or 12.1%. When realizing animals for meat, the chilled carcass weight is of great importance, which was higher in the bulls of the first group by 12.1 kg, or 13.4%. Carcasses obtained from the young yaks of both groups compared did not have significant difference in contents of bony tissue, tendons, cartilages, and ligaments. Relative to the chilled carcass weight, the young yaks of the first group had the least content of inedible part of carcass. From the study of chemical composition of meat were established higher contents of protein and fat in meat of the first group’s yaks by 0.56 and 0.31%, respectively.