Fjölrit RALA - 22.03.1979, Síða 84

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The left half of each carcass was dissected into sub-
cutaneous fat, intermuscular fat, muscle and bone. The
sternum and vertebral column were dissected from both parts
of the carcass and weighed as one group. The weight of other
dissected tissues was doubled to obtain the right tissue
ratio in each carcass.
A sensory evaluation was made on muscles 1. dorsi and
semimembranosus and subcutaneous fat over 1. dorsi on both
fried and boiled samples from each dissected carcass in all
144 samples. Scores from 1 to 5 were given for taste and
odor, and the chewing number of the muscles was recorded.
The meaning of each score is as follows:
1 - inedible
2 - bad
3 - passable, tolerable
4 - good
5 - excellent
The chewing number is the number of jaw movements
before the meat is swallowed and is therefore a scale
for tenderness.
The I. dorsi muscle and liver from each dissected
carcass were analysed for protein, fat, ash and dry matter.
Glycogen in liver was also determined.
III. Results
Table 1 shows the averages for the live weight on the
20th of September, 17th of October and the 24th of October,
dressed carcass weight (including kidney fat), pelt, caul
fat, kidney fat and liver for groups A-F and subgroups 1-3.
The dressed carcass weight of lambs slaughtered at the
beginning of the experiment was 14.09 kg. Lambs in group A
gained 0.420 kg in dressed carcass weight, but lambs in
group B lost 0.430 kg. Lambs in groups C, D and E gained
2.86, 2.50 and 2.09 kg of meat respectively.
The lambs in subgroup 1 which were grazed on green feed
the whole time, had a dressed carcass weight of 16.87 kg.
The carcasses of the lambs in subgroup 2 which were fed hay
and grass pellets indoors the last week before slaughter