In vivo estimation of carcass composition using ultrasonographic measurements in Cattle

Abstract

This study analyzes the relationship between muscle thickness measured by ultrasound at five points on the body of live bulls and the most important characteristics of the carcass. In our experiment, we used bulls from three cattle breeds: Pinzgauer (P), Braunvieh (B), and Holstein (H), with sample sizes of 25, 12, and 14 animals, respectively. For the Braunvieh breed group, we found that all the carcass composition indicators analyzed in this study (hot carcass weight, chilled carcass weight, weight of high-value cuts, and total meat weight of the right half-carcass) were highly correlated with the thickness of the longissimus dorsi muscle measured at the 7th thoracic vertebra, with correlation coefficients r = 0.85, 0.85, 0.71, and 0.83 (P < 0.01), respectively. When calculating the same correlations for the Holstein breed group, we obtained r = 0.66, 0.66, 0.75, and 0.71 (P < 0.01). Correlation coefficients ranging from moderate to high were found between the thickness of the superficial gluteal muscle of the right leg and all the carcass composition indicators analyzed here, with r values between 0.57 and 0.73 (P < 0.05, 0.01). When correlating the ultrasound measurements of the infraspinatus region, 13th thoracic vertebra, and 5th lumbar vertebra with carcass composition indicators, we found moderate or non-significant coefficients. The predictive capacity of the linear regression equations for hot carcass weight, chilled carcass weight, and high-value cut weight varied substantially. When live weight before slaughter was included, the predictive power was higher (R² = 0.96, 0.95, and 0.87); when it was excluded, the predictive power was lower (R² = 0.74, 0.74, and 0.47). The results obtained encourage the use of ultrasound as a predictive technique for bovine carcass composition.