Slaughter of Animals and Processing of their

Products
Chapter 4

Factors Affecting Carcass Yield

Chapter 4

Factors Affecting Carcass Yield

This module 4 deals with the factors affecting carcass yield of the animals.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the module, the students should be able to:

1. Identify the different factors affecting carcass yield of the animals.

Duration:

Chapter 4: Factors Affecting Carcass Yield = 7 hours 1hours discussion; 6

hours laboratory

Lesson Proper

Basic Principles in Selecting animals for Slaughter

The meat produced should possess the characteristics necessary for the products to make.

Considerations:
1. Sex
 Barrows and gilts have no distinct differences in meat quality.
 Boar taint odor is only apparent in uncastrated male after reaching seven (7) months
of age. Thus, less than seven months’ boar is fit for slaughter
 Meat from castrated hogs are fatter than their female and uncastrated male
counterparts of the same age. The quality of meat obtained from stags partly depends
on the age of the animal and on the length of time from castration to slaughter.
 Barrows and gilts- best sources of meat for curing
 Boars- young boars (200 days old or below) can still be used. The older the boar,
“boar taint” becomes pronounced.
 Sows- meat is tough and during advance stage of pregnancy the meat maybe fishy in
odor
 Meat of pregnant animal is low in quality. The meat may be fishy in odor when the
animal is at an advance stage of pregnancy.
 In cattle, meat from bull is generally less tender and lower in overall acceptability
than that of steers.
2. Age
 Recommended for; Swine- 6-12 months of age, Goat- about a year old and Cattle and
carabao- 3 years or younger
 Meat from older animals tends to become darker, tougher, fatter and poorer in quality
than meat from younger animals. However, it os flavorful, has a high degree of
marbling.
 In beef, marbling increases up to 30 moths but beyond this age limit, it is already
stationary.
  The most important quality factor which changes with age is tenderness. Beyond 42
months of age, meat from young and old animals is already equal in terms of
tenderness.
 In general, meat from old animals is juicier than meat from young ones.
 Pork follows the same trend as beef. Very little change in tenderness occurs after
eleven months of age.
3. Size
 The recommended slaughter weight of animals for fresh meat retailing and intact meat
processing are: Hog- 80 to 110 kg, goat – 25 to 30 kg and Cattle and carabao- 300 to
450 kg=
 Within these weight ranges, the retail cut yield from the different livestock is at
optimum.
4. Class
 Shotes are utilized for the production of quality lechon or roasted pigs, it commands
the highest price.
 The differences in carcass yield and characteristics are the function of sex, age, size
and amount of exercise each class receives.
5. Health
 slaughter animal must be substantially healthy.
 Unhealthy animals must be first treated and brought to normal condition prior to
slaughter
 Only healthy animals shall be considered for slaughter, however, those with minimal
defects can also be slaughtered when they pass the ante- mortem inspection
 Meat from unhealthy animals is poor in quality and is not recommended.
6. Meat Yield
 Average dressing percentage of swine in the Philippines, head off is about 69% and
total trimmed lean cuts amount to 36% of the liveweight.
 Beef and carabeef have similar average dressing percentage of 48% but differ in the
total lean yield with 34% and 33 % respectively.
 Goats on the other hand have 43% dressing percentage and 27% total lean yield.
Dressing Percentage of slaughtered Animals
Cattle/carabao- 60%
Calves- 62%
Hogs- 73%
Sheep/goats- 50%
Chicken-
75% Turkey-
83 % Duck-
70%
Geese- 75%
 7. Loin eye and other measurements
 Wide loin eye area in swine is indicative of high lean cut and low fat cut
yields.
 Slaughter hogs with wide loin eye area are ideal for slaughtering.
8. Degree of Fatness
 Consumers discriminates fatty meat, however, fat greatly influences flavor,
tenderness and juiciness.
 For comminuted beef and pork products, 30 to 40% fat seems to be the most
acceptable in terms of flavor, tenderness, juiciness and overall acceptability.
 Meat flavor, tenderness and juiciness are some of the palatability factors
greatly influenced with fat
 For sausages and other comminuted meat products, 30-40 % fat seems to be
the most acceptable

Activity Sheet
 ACTIVITY 4

Name: Angeline L. Mendoza Course/Year/Section: BSA-AS 2 Moniliform Score:

Identification. Identify the basic considerations in selecting animal for slaughter based on
the given statement.

Degree of Fatness 1. Consumers discriminates fatty meat, however, fat greatly

influences flavor, tenderness and juiciness.
Loin eye and other measurements 2. Meat flavor, tenderness and juiciness are some of the
palatability factors greatly influenced with fat
Sex 3. Barrows and gilts have no distinct differences in meat quality.
Loin eye and other measurements 4. Slaughter hogs with wide loin eye area are ideal for slaughtering.
Meat Yield 5. Swine head off is about 69% and the total trimmed lean cuts
amount to 36% of the live weight.
Health 6. Meat from unhealthy animals is poor in quality and is not recommended
Age 7. In beef, marbling increases up to 30 moths but beyond this age
limit, it is already stationary.
Size 8. Hog- 80 to 110 kg, goat – 25 to 30 kg and Cattle and carabao-
300 to 450 kg
Sex 9. Barrows and gilts- best sources of meat for curing
Age 10. In beef, marbling increases up to 30 moths but beyond this age
limit, it is already stationary.
Laboratory Exercise
Laboratory Exercise
Review of Publication on Factors Affecting Carcass Yield

Name: Angeline L. Mendoza Course/Year/Section: BSA-AS 2 Moniliform Score:

Objectives: After the activity, students are expected to review and study publications on the
factors affecting carcass yield of animals.

Instruction: From the reviewed publication on factors affecting carcass yield of animals,
select 10 articles and make a reaction paper basically comprises of the following parts
A. Introduction
B. Body
C. Conclusion
D. List of Citations and Sources

Note: You may visit this site https://www.allassignmenthelp.com/blog/how-to-write-a-

reaction-paper/ to be familiar with the components of the different parts of the reaction paper.
Check on the reaction paper grading rubric below.