Yields of carcass, retail cuts and retail beef cuts of castrated Murrah buffaloes slaughtered at different periods of feedlot

The objective of this trial was to evaluate the carcass traits of feedlot castrated Murrah buffaloes. Twenty castrated hornless Murrah buffaloes averaging 15 months of age and initial body weight of 207 kg were used. Animals were divided in four groups and slaughtered at 75, 100, 125 or 150 days of feedlot after an adaptation period. At slaughter, carcasses were identified, cooled for 24 hours, and weighed for calculation of yields of half carcass, hindquarter, spare ribs, forequarter, and sawcut. There was no significant difference for carcass yield comparing the different periods of feedlot. Weights of sawcut. forequarter, hindquarter, tenderloin, strip loin, thin skirt, topside, outside flat, eye round, tallow, retail beef cuts. and bones all increased linearly while significant cubic effects were observed for yields of forequarter and hindquarter by increasing the days in feedlot. However, yields of knuckle, shank, and beef loin + tri-tip decreased linearly while those of thin skirt and tallow increased linearly when the feedlot period went from 75 to 150 days.