Abstract

Several local sheep breeds of the Alpine regions are in danger of extinction as a result of mountain farms being abandoned. Three fattening trials were carried out on 4 breeds of the Veneto region (Foza, Lamon, Alpagota, and Brogna) on a total of 115 ewes and suckling lambs, weaned lambs and heavy lambs slaughtered at 1356 ± 267, 104 ± 24, 219 ± 26, and 342 ± 14 d of age, respectively. The results confirmed that the adoption of total mixed diets resulted in good in vivo and post mortem performances of culled ewes (64 kg slaughter weight, 48% dressing percentage), suckling lambs (21 kg, 50%), weaned lambs (30 kg, 42%) and heavy lambs (61 kg, 48%). Carcass compactness and fatness increased with the age of the lambs, whereas the proportions of lean meat and bone decreased. Meat lightness and cooking losses decreased with age, whereas redness and chroma increased. The meat quality of culled ewes was like that of heavy lambs. Carcass conformation and composition (aside from size traits), and the quality of the meat differed little among the four Alpine breeds. These results show that local breeds are potentially valuable sources of lamb and mutton meat across different seasons, paving the way for strategies to develop and promote the meat with the involvement of high-quality restaurants and meat retailers.

• Highlights

• Compared to outdoor grazing, the adoption of indoor diets resulted in good in vivo and post-mortem performances of ewes, suckling lambs and heavy lambs.

• Autochthonous Alpine breeds are potentially valuable sources of high-quality lamb and mutton across different seasons of the year.

• This potential could be exploited in developing a prestigious product aimed at high quality restaurants and butchers. The subsequent demand for the product would, in turn, contribute to the survival of the local sheep breeds of Alpine regions.

摘要

由于山区农场被遗弃，阿尔卑斯地区的几种当地绵羊品种面临灭绝的危险。对威尼托地区的 4 个品种（Foza、Lamon、Alpagota 和 Brogna）进行了 3 次育肥试验，共 115 头母羊和以 1356 ± 267、104 ± 24、219 ± 屠宰的哺乳羔羊、断奶羔羊和重羔羊分别为 26 和 342 ± 14 天龄。结果证实，采用完全混合饮食导致了良好的体内和死后淘汰母羊（64 公斤屠宰体重，48% 屠宰率）、哺乳羔羊（21 公斤，50%）、断奶羔羊（30 公斤，42%）和重羔羊（61 公斤，48%）的性能。胴体紧实度和脂肪含量随着羔羊的年龄增加而增加，而瘦肉和骨头的比例下降。肉的亮度和烹饪损失随着年龄的增长而减少，而红色和色度增加。被淘汰的母羊的肉质与重的羔羊一样。四个阿尔卑斯品种之间的胴体构造和组成（除了大小特征）以及肉的质量差异很小。这些结果表明，当地品种是不同季节羊肉和羊肉的潜在宝贵来源，为制定和推广优质餐厅和肉类零售商参与的肉类战略铺平了道路。

• 强调

• 与户外放牧相比，采用室内饮食可以使母羊、哺乳羔羊和重羔羊在体内和宰后表现良好。

• 高山本土品种是一年中不同季节优质羊肉和羊肉的潜在宝贵来源。

• 这种潜力可用于开发针对高品质餐厅和肉店的著名产品。随后对该产品的需求反过来又会促进阿尔卑斯地区当地绵羊品种的生存。