Carcass Composition of Finished Goat Kids from Indigenous and Dairy Breeds

In this study, meat production characteristics of Saanen, Gokceada, Maltese and Hair Goat breeds were investigated by using forty male kids. There were significant differences among breeds in shoulder, flank, neck, ribs and long leg weights (P<0.001). Saanen kids had significantly higher flank, neck, ribs and long leg weight compared with the other breeds in the study. On the other hand, the differences among breeds with respect to percentage of carcass joints except long leg percentage were not significant (P>0.05). In general, muscle, bone, subcutaneous fat, intermuscular fat and other tissues weights were higher in carcass joints of Saanen kids than those from the other breeds. The percentage of muscle in the flank was significantly higher in Gokceada kids in comparison with Maltese and Hair Goat kids (P<0.05). Hair Goat kids had lower muscle percentage in the loin than those of Saanen, Gokceada and Maltese kids (P<0.01). Hair Goat kids had significantly lower muscle percentage in long leg compared with Saanen and Gokceada kids.