| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2449844 | Meat Science | 2015 | 10 Pages |
•The effect of diet and breed on growth performance, carcass and meat quality was determined.•Feeding system did not affect most features analyzed (20 out of 65).•It affected most post-chilling meat colour and ultrasound carcass measurements.•Breed affected growth and many carcass ultrasound and conformation measurements.
A total of 100 young bulls were allotted a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments to determine the effect of the feeding system (concentrate and wheat straw: T; total mixed ration comprised of the same concentrate, maize silage and wheat straw: TMR) and breed (Limousine: LI; Retinta: RE) on growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality. The diets were administrated ad libitum for 193 days. The average daily weight gain was similar (P > 0.05) for both diets, while the LI bulls grew significantly (P < 0.05) more than RE. T bulls showed higher L*, a* and rib bone percentage. TMR bulls showed higher carcass yield, conformation and fatness, and greater changes in ultrasound measurements, except Δ UGMD and rib fat percentage. Instrumental meat quality, except shear force at 1 and 21 days of ageing, was not affected (P > 0.05) by the diets. Breed significantly affected most of the analyzed characteristics.
