Effect of feeding systems on growth performances and meat traits of suckling Messinese kids

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the feeding system of the dams to compare kid growth performances and meat quality in relation to ifferent kinds of milk fed and live weight at slaughter. The study was carried out on 102 suckling Messinese kids, divided into two groups called: Group SE presented by fifty kids (30 males, 20 females) reared with their dams bred in a semi-extensive system, and Group E represented by fifty-two kids (39 males, 23 females) reared with their dams bred in an extensive system. Dams of the Group SE were fed exclusively spontaneous pasture; in the evening the dams were kept in the stable. Dams of the Group E were kept exclusively outdoors and their pasture areas were characterized by the presence of Quercus suber; therefore, the animals were fed also acorn ad libitum. Each kid was weighed every 10 days, from birth to weaning (average 50 days); at the slaughter, the weight of the hot carcass to determine the relative yield was calculated. Then, carcasses were chilled at 4°C for 24h. Meat quality measurements on the Longissimus dorsi muscle of each carcass were measured. Data were subjected to ANOVA. The trend of Body weight (initial body weight SE 3.22kg; E 3.57kg) showed better growth performance in the kids of Group E than that of Group SE, as testified by the final body weight (E 10.53kg vs. SE 9.40kg.; P<0.001). The yield at slaughter did not show any significant difference between the two groups (E 57.31% vs. SE 58.42%; P= 0.32). The final pH showed significant lower values in the muscle of the kids of the Group E (E 5.63 vs. SE 5.96; P<.001); this could be due to the different energy content of the breast milk, fed by the kids, thus determining a different accumulation of muscle glycogen and a relative glycolytic activity. As regards the color parameters, significant differences were observed for the Hue with lower values in the meat of Group E than that of the Group SE (E 46.24 vs. SE 62.64; P<0.005). The cooking loss (E 25.53% vs. SE 19.60%; P<0.05) and the tenderness (E 5.04 kg/cm2 vs. SE 3.63 kg/cm2 ; P<0.05) were significantly higher in the meat of the Group E that that of the Group SE. The chemical composition showed similar values between the groups. Results could represent a starting point, in a system of food chain traceability, to identify the relation between the typical feeding system of goats in the Nebrodi area and the performances growth and the meat traits of suckling kids.