*Dept. of livestock Products Technology, Veterinary College, Bangalore, 560 024, India
Institute of Natural Resources Research & Animal Science, Khorasan, Iran
Online published on 29 December, 2011.
Effect of docking on carcass composition was studied in fat-tailed sheep. Male lambs were randomly divided into two groups. One group was docked 3–4 hrs, after birth, using rubber rings and the tails of other left intact (control). After weanfng, 20 lambs from each group were divided into two subgroups, one group was fed with a lowenergy diet (2.45 Mcal/Kg ME) and other one with a high energy diet (2.73 Mcal/Kg ME) for 84 days. At the end of the fattening period, 28 lambs were slaughtered for determination of carcass composition. Total carcass fat (amount or percent) showed significant difference between carcasses of docking and control lambs. Energy of diets can affect on total carcasses fat significantly. Melting point, refractive Index and iodine number showed no significant difference between docked and control lambs and energy of diets (P<.05).
Badghisian sheep, Docking, Energy, Carcass composition
