Table 3.
Non-carcass components and fat content of the three sheep breeds (n = 8/group).
| *Component% | Breed | Limits | SEM | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awassi | Harri | Najdi | Minimum | Maximum | ||
| Head | 7.57 | 6.94 | 7.58 | 6.15 | 8.56 | 0.15 |
| Heart | 0.69 | 0.60 | 0.68 | 0.54 | 0.90 | 0.02 |
| Lungs and trachea | 2.30a | 1.81b | 2.18a | 1.52 | 3.16 | 0.08 |
| Liver | 3.21 | 2.95 | 3.09 | 2.24 | 3.69 | 0.07 |
| Spleen | 0.29 | 0.27 | 0.29 | 0.20 | 0.38 | 0.01 |
| Kidneys | 0.51a | 0.44b | 0.48a,b | 0.37 | 0.57 | 0.01 |
| Tail | 11.59 | 13.78 | 12.64 | 6.58 | 21.23 | 0.71 |
| Stomach empty | 7.97 | 7.05 | 7.18 | 5.59 | 8.90 | 0.22 |
| Intestine empty | 6.27a | 4.43c | 5.43b | 3.53 | 7.84 | 0.21 |
| Gut fill | 16.85 | 15.16 | 16.48 | 10.90 | 21.80 | 0.66 |
| Pericardial fat | 0.45 | 0.49 | 0.48 | 0.32 | 0.56 | 0.02 |
| Omental fat | 3.06 | 3.42 | 2.90 | 1.41 | 5.13 | 0.20 |
| Mesenteric fat | 2.09 | 1.66 | 1.62 | 0.90 | 3.78 | 0.14 |
| KKCF | 2.37 | 3.06 | 1.86 | 0.19 | 6.61 | 0.14 |
*
Components were computed as a percentage of hot carcass weight.
a,b,c
Means within rows with different superscripts are significantly different (p < 0.05).
KKCF, kidney knob and channel fat.