PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL INDICES OF MUSCLES IN LAMBS OF WEST SIBERIAN MUTTON SHEEP BREED
At present the primary target of Russia in terms of food supply is to provide the population with quality meat products. Meat products being the main source of complete proteins form an irreplaceable part of human diet. In that regard, special attention is paid to the breeding of fast-growing mutton sheep and mutton-wool sheep. Mutton-wool breeds produce much mutton alongside with large amounts of their wool clip. West Siberian mutton breed (Zapadno-Sibirskaya myasnaya poroda) of sheep was bred to produce high-quality lamb (Patent No. 54176). These sheep reveal good reproductive features, and they are fast maturing, and reveal high dressing percentage at early age. The research goal was to study age-related physical and chemical indices of muscular tissue of West Siberian mutton breed. The study revealed that by 6 months, moisture concentration decreased by 2.5% (P < 0.05), and by 12 months by 4.1% (P < 0.05) as compared to that in newborn lambs; fat content increased by 5.7% (P < 0.01) by 6 months, and by 11.1% (P < 0.001) by 12 months as compared to that in newborns. Protein increased with age by 2.1% on the average (P < 0.05) as compared to newborns. According to human nutrition requirements, meat should contain greater amount of protein and lower amount of fat. That ratio made 1:5 in newborn lambs; 1:2 at six months; and 1:1.4 at 12 months. It may be concluded that the mutton of 12-months sheep is of the highest nutrient value.