Evaluation of empty body weight from buffaloes of three genetics groups

• Grant number: 16/17991-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2016
• End date: October 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Production
• Principal Investigator: Andre Mendes Jorge
• Grantee: Matheus Henrique Paez Martins Narciso
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 14/05473-7 - Nutritional requirements, behavior, animal temperament, feed efficiency, metabolic parameters, carcass and meat quality from buffaloes in tropical conditions, AP.TEM

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the empty body weight from buffalos of three genetic groups, observing possible variations of the breeds. The experiment will be carried out on the new Center for Tropical Research in Buffalos, of the Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, of the Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho", which is located at Botucatu, on the midwest of São Paulo State. Seventy-five non-castrated males will be used (25 of each breed: Murrah; Mediterrâneo; Jafarabadi). Animals will be slaughtered into different body weights (420, 480 and 540 kg). After slaughter, non-carcass components from each animal will be measured and collected (blood, legs, head, leather, tail, gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidneys, internal fat and other internal organs). The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of each animal will be weighted to get the weight of the full, and then emptied of its contents, washed, drained, and weighed to get the weight of the GIT content. Equations will be developed to determine the empty body weight in relation to body weight of the animals and the relationship between empty body weight and slaughter weight. Data will be analyzed with REG, MIXED, and CORR procedures of SAS (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). Significance will be set if P< 0.05.