1Department of Animal Production, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O Box 2460, 11451Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, 11451Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
*Corresponding Author: Ahmed Sami, Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, 11451Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Email: asami@ksu.edu.sa
This study carefully examined the carcass composition, physical measurements and growth development of three economically important indigenous Saudi sheep breeds: Neaimi, Harri and Najdi.
The research was conducted under uniform management and feeding conditions. A total of 45 healthy male lambs (15 each breed), initially weighing 24 kg on average, were observed over a 13-week period. Out of these, 24 lambs (8 from each breed) were slaughtered when they reached a target market weight of approximately 45-50 kg to evaluate key production parameters.
Significant breed effects (p<0.05) were statistically confirmed across major carcass components, dressing metrics and body dimensions. Neaimi lambs demonstrated a superior lean-to-fat ratio, characterized by the highest meat proportion and greatest carcass compactness. Conversely, Harri lambs exhibited pronounced fat deposition and the highest dressing percentage, typical of fat-tailed breeds. Najdi lambs, possessing the largest skeletal frame, displayed longer carcasses and superior leg development, suggesting high potential for total muscularity. These findings provide essential, differentiated data on the phenotypic and carcass attributes of Saudi sheep, offering direct insights for optimizing breed-specific selection indices, conservation strategies and strategic meat production goals within arid and semi-arid environments.
Carcass composition, Harri, Meat yield, Morphometric traits, Najdi, Neaimi
