Growth performance, productivity, meat quality of Senepol crossbred bulls fattening period
The study was conducted to determine the body weight gain, productivity, and meat quality of two crossbreds between Senepol and Zebu crossbred or Brahman bulls raised for fattening period from 21 to 24 months. Research was conducted on 12 crossbred cows (6 Senepol x Zebu crossbred cows and 6 Se x Br crossbred cows. After the fattening period, 1 cow in each crossbreed combination at each location were slaughtered to evaluate meat performance and carcass composition. Results showed that two crossbreds from Senepol cattle had equivalent weight at 24 months of age were from 491.8 to 533.7 kg/cow. Average daily gain in fattening period were from 1209 to 1213 g/cow/day. The weight of carcass of Senepol x Zebu crossbred cows was 259.49 kg/cow respectively; in Se x Br cow was 294.38 kg. Carcass percentage, meat percentage are similar between the 2 groups of crossbred cows. Through evaluating the resulting meat quality, the average crossbred beef pH is 5.48-5.53 at 48 hours after slaughter.
