Effects of feeding fish–wheat bran meal on performance and meat quality of Omani sheep

Figures & data

Table 1. Feed intake, BW gain and feed conversion in Omani sheep fed with pelleted concentrate containing various levels of fish silage.

	Diet (fish silage level g/kg)					SEM	Diet effect
Measurement	0	50	100	150	200
Total intake (kg)	83	88	83	85	89	28.2	NS
Average daily hay intake (g)	410	442	400	449	454	23.3	NS
Average daily conc. intake (g)	334	342	342	311	338	11.4	NS
Average daily intake (g)	745	785	742	760	793	25.2	NS
Average BW (kg)	22.8	24	23	23	23	1.44	NS
Total weight gain (kg)	11.8	12.9	11.9	11.3	10.8	0.75	NS
Average daily gain (g)	105	115	106	101	96	7	NS
Feed intake (g/kg BW)	46.5	48.9	48.4	44.3	42.5	4.1	NS
Feed:gain	7.2	6.8	7.0	7.9	8.5	0.49	NS
Gain:feed	0.141	0.147	0.144	0.132	0.121	0.08	NS

Note: SEM, standard error of means; NS = p > .05.

Table 2. Mean weights of body, carcass and non-carcass components in Omani sheep fed with pelleted concentrate containing various levels of fish silage.

Body part (g/kg EBW)	Diet (fish silage level g/kg)					SEM	Diet effect
	0	50	100	150	200
Head	62	64.5	65.2	64	66	1.56	NS
Skin	141	121	132	128	118	5.02	NS
Lungs and trachea	17	18	17	17	17	0.88	NS
Heart	3.8	3.8	3.9	4.1	4.0	0.21	NS
Liver	14.6	15.5	14.5	15.2	14.2	0.61	NS
Feet	28.0	27.2	27.5	28.0	30.0	0.63	NS
Alimentary tract-full	185	172	195	218	241	10.7	NS
Alimentary tract-empty	24.3	25.2	26.2	27.7	27.9	1.54	NS
Small and large intestines	63	67	75	66	68	4.99	NS
Spleen	1.2	1.1	1.1	1.2	1.2	0.06	NS
Pancreas	0.93	0.74	1.0	0.67	0.79	0.10	NS
Bladder	0.57	0.42	0.48	0.57	0.62	0.08	NS
Testes	6.9	7.3	7.6	8.8	8.9	0.58	NS
Kidney	2.9	2.9	2.7	3.2	3.4	0.10	NS
Omental fat	15.4	21.3	17.5	14.8	13.7	1.95	NS
Mesenteric fat	13.4	14.0	13.0	12.4	10.2	0.91	NS
Kidney fat	8.1	9.3	9.4	7.5	7.5	0.68	NS

Note: EBW, empty body weight, SEM, standard error of means; NS = p > .05.

Table 3. Meat quality parameters in Omani sheep fed with pelleted concentrate containing various levels of fish silage.

Parameter	Diet (fish silage level g/kg)					SEM	Diet effect
	0	50	100	150	200
pH
40 min	6.2	6.3	6.5	6.3	6.4	0.11	NS
1 h	6.3	6.3	6.4	6.3	6.3	0.06	NS
2 h	6.2^b	6.1^b	6.4^a	6.2^b	6.3^a,b	0.06	**
6 h	6.0	5.9	6.0	5.9	6.1	0.05	NS
8 h	5.9^a	5.6^b	6.0^a	5.7^b	5.8^a,b	0.07	*
10 h	5.7	5.5	5.8	5.6	5.6	0.10	NS
12 h	5.6	5.5	5.7	5.5	5.6	0.10	NS
24 h	5.7	5.5	5.8	5.5	5.6	0.11	NS
Ultimate pH	5.8	5.7	6.0	5.7	5.7	0.2	NS
Colour
L* (Lightness)	29.3^b,c	30.3^b	28.3^c	32.4^a	28.6^c	0.9	*
a* (Redness)	12.5	12.4	11.9	12.4	12.2	0.8	NS
b* (Yellowness)	3.2	3.0	2.7	3.8	3.3	0.4	NS
Cooking loss	10.7	13.6	14.2	13.3	13.9	0.9	NS
Shear force (kg)	7.1	10.6	8.0	7.8	7.1	1.1	NS
Myofibrillar	79.5	78.3	80.9	78.9	78.4	1.0	NS
Express juice	34.6	29.5	30.8	31.9	33.0	3.8	NS
Sarcomere length (µm)	1.8	2.2	2.1	2.1	2.3	0.3	NS
Panel taste scores
Tenderness^1	6.7	5.7	5.3	5.9	6.4	0.443	NS
Juiciness^2	6.2^a	5.6^b	4.5^c	5.4^b	6.1^a	0.370	**
Flavour^3	6.3	6.1	5.2	5.5	6.5	0.391	NS
Aroma^4	6.2^a	6.3^a	4.8^c	5.8^b	6.7^a	0.387	**
Desirability^5	6.3^a	6.2^a,b	4.8^c	5.4^b,c	6.4^a	0.417	*
Palatability^6	6.5^a	6.0^a,b	4.8^c	5.6^b	6.5^a	0.445	*

Notes: SEM, standard error of means; NS = p > .05. Means on the same line denoted with the same superscript do not differ significantly (p < .05). Score range 10 (highest affirmative value) to 1 (lowest value). Total of 27 panellists participated in the evaluation.

¹Scored as 1 = extremely tough, 10 = extremely tender.

²Scored as 1 = extremely dry, 10 = extremely juicy.

³Scored as 1 = extremely undesirable flavour, 10 = extremely desirable flavour.

⁴Scored as 1 = no smell of fish taint, 10 = extremely having fish taint.

⁵Scored as 1 = extremely undesirable, 10 = extremely desirable.

⁶Scored as 1 = extremely unpalatable, 10 = extremely palatable.