Resumen:
Fourteen Dorper × Pelibuey ram lambs (initial body weight [BW] = 37.4 ± 1.0 kg and age = 4.5 mo) were housed in individual pens during a 30-d feeding period, and then slaughtered to determine the effects of zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH) supplementation on productive performance, carcass characteristics and wholesale cut yields. Lambs were assigned under a randomized complete block design (initial BW as blocking factor) to one of two dietary treatments: basal diet without (control) or with 10 mg daily of ZH/lamb. Lambs fed ZH had greater (P ≤ .04) final BW, average daily gain and dry matter intake, but similar (P = .24) feed efficiency compared with control lambs. Hot and cold carcass weight, dressing percentage, longissimus muscle area and leg perimeter were greater (P ≤ .05) for ZH-fed lambs than for control lambs. With exception of blood percentage which decreased (P < .01) with ZH, wholesale cut yields and non-carcass components were unaffected (P ≥ .12) by ZH supplementation. In conclusion, ZH can be used to improve growth rate and dressing percentage, but not to increase wholesale cut yields in feedlot finishing ram lambs.
Descripción:
Growth of the sheep meat industry throughout the world has been slow compared with meat industries of other domestic animals. Therefore, increasing productivity and efficiency of sheep meat production are key factors to enhance the competi- tiveness of this industry (Montossi et al. 2013). The use of β2- adrenergic agonists (β2-AA) as growth promoters has demon- strated to increase sheep meat production by improving protein deposition in muscle (Domínguez-Vara et al. 2013). The use of such technology in the lamb fattening systems could be a nutritional strategy to improve their competitiveness.
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