Livestock Studies 1999, Vol 39, Num, 2     (Pages: 069-082)

Use of Ultrasound for Grading Carcass in Live Animals

Mehmet YARDIMCI 1 ,Ceyhan ÖZBEYAZ 2

1 Ankara Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Enstitüsü Zootekni Anabilim Dalı-ANKARA
2 Ankara Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi Zootekni Anabilim Dalı-ANKARA
- Use of ultrasonography in live cattle to estimate the meat production has a largely increased tendency. Several studies have been conducted to predict the carcass traits using ultrasonography in several countries. In these studies subcutaneous fat thickness and area and longissimus muscle area and depth have been measured on live animals and the results have been compared with the real measures that are taken after slaughter. Carcass traits such as dressing percentage, lean : bone ratio and marbling are estimated with the mathematical models that are obtained by adding the liveweight values to the ultrasonic measures. Ultrasonic techniques works more accurately on pigs and cattle than sheep. According to the foundations of several investigations , longissimus muscle area and fat area measures have given more accurate results than the muscle and fat depth measures. Keywords : Live Grading, Carcass, Ultrasound