Relationships among carcass composition and tail measurements in fat-tailed Barbarine sheep

A total of 1392 records collected on 87 Barbarine fat-tailed lambs was used to predict in vivo carcass composition (tail fat, body fat and body muscle) from body weight (BW) and some fat-tail measurements. Lambs were 4-12 months old and weighed 21-48 kg. Measurements included body weight, upper and middle tail-depth, upper and middle tail-width, upper and middle tail-circumference and tail-length. After slaughter, omental, mesenteric, tail and dissected fat in the carcass were separated and weighted. Total body fat (TBF) corresponds to the sum of these fat depots. Weight of tail fat and TBF varied from 0.18 to 2.23 kg and from 0.98 to 7.63 kg, respectively and were highly correlated (r = 0.91; P < 0.01) as well with all tail measurements. The highest correlations (r > 0.8) were observed between all fat depots and circumference measures. The best accuracy was obtained in the prediction of tail fat and TBF from circumference of upper and middle tail, width measure and BW (R.S.D. = 219 and 611 g, respectively; P < 0.01). This study showed that body fat could be predicted in vivo using simple tail measurements in the Barbarine fat-tailed lambs. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier B.V.