Tissue Composition and Muscularity of Lamb Legs Fed with Sunflower Seeds and Vitamin E

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the tissue composition and carcass muscularity of 32 legs of Ile de France lambs fed with diets containing sunflower seeds and vitamin E, with mean body weight of 15 kg, lodged in individual pens at 15 kg and slaughtered at 32 kg of body weight. The treatments influenced (P 0,05) by the treatments. The interaction of the sunflower and vitamin E was positive for bone total weights and intermuscular fat. Keywords—sheep, conformation, feedlot, nutrition, sugar-cane I. INTRODUCTION ESPITE the consumption of mutton is still considered low compared to the meat of other species, the perspectives of sheep breeding in Brazil appear to be favorable. The per capita consumption of sheep meat is estimated in 0,6 kg / inhabitant / year, however in the major metropolitan centers this value may reach 1,5 kg / inhabitant / year.Due to its high growth rate, lamb is the category that presents the highest production efficiency, resulting in higher yields of carcass and meat quality (1). His production is usually associated with feedlot, a practice that lets explore the biggest gain potential of the animal in the juvenile phase. However, the end of feedlot lambs may be an economically unviable practice, due to the expenses on food, which can represent about 70% of the total production cost (2). In this context, it is encouraged the use of cheaper food, and of easy availability to form the animal diet, enabling the production system.To be efficient in this increasingly competitive market, it is necessary that the lamb has desirable quality parameters, both quantitative and qualitative (3). Thus, the use of methods to assess the carcass and that allowed predicting its quality and muscle, bone and fat composition is essential. Evaluation of quantitative traits in vivo and of the carcass can jointly predict the yield and composition of the commercial cuts.