Systematic crossbreeding and its impact on carcass parameters and associated meat quality properties in goats and sheep

The major focus of any commercial goat and sheep enterprise is to maximize on carcass and meat production and obviously realizing substantial gain in profits. In modern goat and sheep meat production, crossbreeding has become an admissible and accelerated strategy to produce carcasses that ensure the point of departure for leaner meat, in addition to consumer acceptable carcass properties. It has become a norm that genetic manipulation for desired carcass and meat quality in small ruminants can be achieved through crossbreeding. There is considerable individual, maternal and paternal heteroses for carcass and meat quality properties in goat/ sheep crosses. In this regard, crossing of genetic distant goat/sheep breeds fortifies the degree of manifestation of carcass and meat quality performance results. In practice noticeable commercial gains have been achieved in improving carcass and meat quality properties through crossing indigenous and exotic goats’/sheep breeds, especially in low input production systems. It should be noted that the inconsistency on end results on the impact of crossbreeding on carcass and meat quality parameters is due to various non-genetic factors that are experienced in different production systems. Carcass and meat value is influenced by a significant number of different factors where the uttermost importance are genotype, nutrition, sex, age and weight at slaughter and management. In this case, comparability of results of crossbreeding on carcass and meat quality performance in different production systems have been debatable and complicated, due to the fact that in certain cases crossbred animals are slaughtered at the same age and varied sex, and/or different age and same sex, possibly differing in weight at slaughter. The differentiated nutritional management in extensive versus intensive production systems is critical in determining the quality carcass and/or meat in crossbred goat and sheep. Consumers have been the major prescribers of the intended form of carcass and meat quality proponents’ world over, especially in developed countries. In this regard crossbreeding has been strategically used to customise meat production to the needs of various production systems, in terms of carcass and meat attributes seem acceptable by different host markets and consumers’ expectations. However, it has been acknowledged that not necessarily every crossing is adapted for breeding to guarantee comparable desired carcass and meat quality parameters, hence different combination of two-breed and to a lesser extent three-breed crossing of selected populations of goats and sheep have been used to carter for the needs of different production systems and markets. Against this background, the application of any systematic crossbreeding strategy should take into account the appropriate breed combination by selecting right population to fulfill efficient goat/sheep meat production. Crossbreeding capitalize on genetic distance through utilizing superior specialized maternal and paternal breeds/lines for the purpose of maximizing their superiority, diluting their flaws for improved performance in carcass and meat quality parameters. Basically, crossbreeding is not one size fits all, in conformity with expanded genetic diversity of goat and sheep breeds and differential production systems, no one combination of specific breeds will work for multiple production systems. The purpose of the present review is to give an insight on the impact of crossbreeding on carcass and meat quality parameters in goats and sheep.

Keywords:

Crossbreeding , Carcass , Meat quality , Goat , Sheep