Evaluation of quality indicators of meat obtained from over-repair heifers of different ages
At the present time more and more attention is given to solving the problems connected with the increase of beef production, as it is the most requested type of meat among red species. New data have been obtained on the quality indicators of milk from the heifers of modern Holstein black-motley cattle. It was established that the high rates of slaughter yield were fixed at the age of 24 months - 52.3%. Evaluation of the morphological composition of the carcass showed that with age, the mass of the carcass in both paired and chilled form increases. At the same time, with age, the difference between the mass of paired and cooled carcasses decreases from 6.8 (18 months) to 2.8% (24 months). At 27 months, this difference increased to 3.1%. The pulp yield in heifers was in the range of 76.8-79.6%, increasing with an increase in the age of heifers during slaughter. The difference in weight of pulp, bones, tendons and pulp yield per 100 kg of live weight is reliable in favor of heifers slaughtered at the age of 24 and 27 months, relative to earlier terms of slaughter at 18 and 21 months at P ≤ 0.05. Coefficient of meatiness was higher when heifers were slaughtered at the age of 27 months - 4.63 kg. This is 0.32-0.53 kg higher than at other age periods. As the calf meat ages, moisture content decreases from 69,9±0,50% to 66,8±0,25% and dry substance content increases from 30,1±0,26% to 33,2±0,26%. In parallel, there is a slight increase in the content of protein and fat in the dry substance. Thus, the age of the animal affects the slaughter qualities, morphological and chemical composition of meat. The nutritional and energy value of meat increases with the age of the animals. It is most effective to breed over-repair heifers of Holstein black-motley cattle for meat up to the age of 24 months