Effects of corn straw on meat characteristics of lambs in the Brazilian semi-arid region.

The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of increasing levels of corn straw replacement of sorghum silage on average daily gain, loin eye area, subcutaneous fat thickness, weight of commercial cuts, leg tissue composition, and physico-chemical characteristics of the meat from F1 Santa Inês × Dorper lambs maintained in a feedlot system. Treatments consisted of 0, 33, 66 and 100% corn straw replacement of sorghum silage. There were thirty-six 150-day-old male lambs.

Comparison of different models for the estimation of genetic parameters in tropical goats.

This study aimed to estimate the variance components and genetic parameters for body weight in tropical goats testing different models using Bayesian approach and investigate the effectiveness of fitting the effects of maternal genetic, permanent environmental, and covariance between direct and maternal effects. Records from 1980 to 2010 of 1453 Anglo-Nubian goats' herd were used. Six performance growth traits: birth weight (BW, kg), at 28 (W28, kg), 56 (W56, kg), 112 (W112, kg), 140 (W140, kg), and 196 (W196; kg) days of age, were evaluated.