Carcass characteristics of Philippine carabao (Bubalis bubalis Linn.) and its crossbreds

Slaughter and carcass yields of Philippine carabao (PC), Philippine carabao x Murrah F 1 (PMF 1) and F 2 (PMF 2) and Philippine carabao x Nili Ravi F 1 (PRF 1 ) were investigated. A total of 37 water buffaloes, 25-132 mos old, weighing 278-672 kg, were slaughtered and fabricated into standard wholesale and retail cuts. The yield of each by-product and wholesale cuts were determined and correlated to the live weight and age of water buffaloes. The economic value ofthe slaughter and carcass yield of each breedtype was determined. Among the breedtypes, PMF 1 had the highest average live weight of 480.50 kg while PC had the lowest with 343.18 kg. PMF1 had heavier hot carcass (249.54 kg) and chilled carcass (242.96 kg) than other breedtypes. The carcass of PMF 1 had the highest percent lean, lowest percent fat and highest chilled carcass weight. The percent lean in the carcass increased (r = 0.554) while the percent fat decreased (r = -0.444) as the animals get heavier. The percent fat in the carcass tended to increase (r = 0.388) as the water buffaloes get older. PMF 1 had the highest estimated sale of PhP 18,644.89 per head, while PC had the lowest with PhP 12,586.45. PMF 1 had the highest estimated sale per kg live weight of PhP 38.80 while PRF 1 had the lowest with PhP 36.52. The results of the study suggest that Philippine carabao x Murrah crossbreds can give higher monetary value to the fanner from slaughter and carcass yields, with almost the same meat quality as the Philippine carabao. The crossbreds have genetic potential to grow faster than Philippine carabaos; thus, they can reach optimum slaughter weight at a much shorter time or at a younger age with a relatively tender meat and less amount of trimmable fats.