MEAT QUALITY AND SLAUGHTER TRAITS OF NATIVE SWINIARKA LAMBS DEPENDING ON A HOUSING SYSTEM

The Swiniarka, an old indigenous breed of sheep, is very well adapted to local environmental conditions and limited food sources, resistant to disease, and tolerant of unfavourable housing conditions. Swiniarka sheep perform well in extensive production systems, on pasture, and on set-aside land and are successfully used for landscape management. The carcass quality of lambs is not very high, but the lamb meat of this race is highly popular among consumers owing to its special taste. The aim of the study was to characterize the carcass and meat quality in lambs of the Swiniarka breed, kept indoors and on pasture. The study involved 20 ram-lambs, which were divided at 120 days of age into two feeding groups with 10 animals per group. Control ram-lambs (G<INF><INF>K</INF></INF>) were kept in a sheep house, where they received meadow hay and straw ad libitum as well as around 0.3 kg/lamb of crushed oats. Animals from the second group (G<INF>p</INF>) remained on pasture throughout the fattening period (3 months) and were supplemented with crushed oats. When the animals reached 7 months of age, they were slaughtered, their carcasses were subjected to slaughter analysis, and the chemical composition of the entrecote muscle was determined. It was found that a rearing system (indoor vs. pasture) had no effect on the final weight and dressing percentage of the lambs. Pasturing of the lambs had a beneficial effect on most carcass parameters and their meat was richer in proteins and minerals. The content of hypocholesterolemic fatty acids was also higher in the meat of lambs from this group.