Quantitative characteristics of carcass and meat quality of 3/4 Boer+1/4 Saanen and Saanen goat kids fed diets with dry yeast

Twenty-seven carcasses of non-castrated confined goat kids, (18 3/4 Boer + 1/4 Saanen and nine Saanen) with slaughtered weight of 30.1 +/- 0.27 kg were used to evaluate quantitative characteristics of the carcass and qualitative characteristics of the loin and shoulder. The animals were distributed in a completely randomized design in a 2 x 3 factorial arrangement (breed group x diet). The diets consisted of inclusion of dry yeast, as follows: soybean meal, soybean meal + dried yeast or dried yeast. The other ingredients of the diets were oat hay (30% DM), ground corn and mineral mixture. Hot carcass weight, cold carcass weight, weight loss by cooling, true carcass yield and carcass compactness index were not influenced by the inclusion of dry yeast nor by racial group. Saanen goats presented the highest carcass commercial yield of carcass, but they needed 15 days more to reach the slaughter weight. The cut yields were not affected, but a significant interaction for shoulder yield occurred. Dry yeast and breed group did not influence the measurements of the loin, the muscle: bone ratio, the cooking losses, the shear force and composition. There was a significant interaction between the inclusion of dry yeast in the diets and the breed group for the muscle proportion on loin, which was higher in the 3/4 Boer + 1/4 Saanen group. For the shoulder, inclusion of dry yeast and breed group did not alter the proportions of muscle, fat, protein and ash. However, in Saanen goats, the proportion of bone and moisture content were higher and total lipid content was lower. The 3/4 Boer + 1/4 Saanen groups showed higher precocity. Dry yeast is an alternative protein source that can be included in diets for goat kids.