Although preslaughter feed withdrawal is commonly used in the livestock industry to reduce the risk of viscera puncture during evisceration, the optimal feed withdrawal time (FWT) appears to be species dependent and is not yet well defined in rabbits. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of three preslaughter FWTs while considering the effect of sex on physiological response and meat quality of rabbits. Three FWTs (4, 11 and 18 h) were tested using 144 recently weaned Grimaud rabbits fed until they reached an average commercial slaughter live body weight of 2.5±0.2 kg. Rabbits were allocated into 24 cages, with six animals in each cage. Eight cages (four cages for females and four cages for males) were assigned to each of the three FWTs. Blood lactate concentrations measured at exsanguination did not raise concerns related to stress. Female rabbits subjected to 4 h FWT had a higher gastrointestinal tract weight compared to male rabbits and to other females subjected to 11 and 18 h FWT (P=0.04). Stomach content weights were lower after 18 h FWT compared to 4 and 11 h (P=0.002) for both sexes, while caecum weights were not affected by FWT. Caecum pH was higher after 11 and 18 h FWT compared to 4 h (P=0.02). Technological meat quality was not particularly affected by FWT, except for Longissimus lumborum drip loss which was lower for rabbits after 18 h FWT compared to 4 h FWT (P=0.005). With respect to microbiological meat quality, the end of shelf life was reached after 10 days for vacuum-packed hind legs from rabbits after 11 h FWT, as Escherichia coli cell counts for four out of the eight hind legs analysed were higher than 3 Log10 colony-forming units (CFU)/10 g. For the other two FWT groups, the end of shelf life was reached after 15 d, at which point the cell counts for all hind legs were ≥3 Log10 CFU/10 g for E. coli and ≥7 Log10 CFU/g for total aerobic mesophilic and presumptive lactic acid bacteria (the maximum threshold concentrations according to current regulations). Our results demonstrate that when transport (30 min) and lairage (30 min) times are short (1 h in total), an 18-h preslaughter feed withdrawal for both male and female rabbits can allow the gut to empty properly with limited effect on meat quality.

Forty meat or dairy kids were blocked within breed according to body weight. Kids within each block were then randomly allotted to a concentrate-based diet or an intensive rotational grazing system. Kids fed the concentrate-based diet were offered hay ad libitum and fixed amounts of whole corn and soybean meal to meet the requirements for maintenance and daily gain. Grazing kids from each breed were stocked in groups and offered a new paddock every day. Dry matter intake was not different between breeds. Meat kids had a greater average daily gain than dairy kids, but feeding treatments did not affect the growth rate. Dairy kids had greater anterior cuts (neck and shoulder), whereas meat kids tended to have greater posterior cuts (loin and leg). Meat kids accumulated more fat when they were fed concentrate in comparison with pasture, whereas this variable tended to be less influenced by dietary treatments in dairy kids. Meat of pasture-fed kids had greater Warner–Bratzler shear force and glycolytic potential, and lower ultimate pH than meat of concentrate-fed kids. The n-6/n-3 fatty acid ratio of intramuscular fat was almost 4-fold greater in concentrate- than pasture-fed kids; this ratio was 1.4-fold greater in dairy than meat kids.

This study aimed to characterise the physiological response of rabbits to feed withdrawal without stress caused by crating and transport to the slaughterhouse. A total of 72 recently weaned Grimaud rabbits were allocated into 12 cages, each with 6 rabbits (3 females and 3 males, to reflect commercial practices). A preslaughter feed withdrawal time (FWT) was randomly assigned to each of the 12 cages (t=0, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 or 24 h). Blood lactate and cortisol concentrations were measured at exsanguination. These observations did not indicate an elevated level of stress in the rabbits (P>0.05). The maximum Longissimus lumborum glycolytic potential was observed for rabbits that fasted for 3 and 6 h and was relatively stable from 127.78 to 139.04 μmol/g for rabbits with FWT longer than 12 h. As expected, gastrointestinal tract and stomach content weights were lower for rabbits with longer FWT (P<0.0001), while caecum weights did not (P=0.051). Rabbits with longer FWT had lower stomach pH and higher caecum pH (both P<0.0001). Metataxonomic 16S analysis revealed that FWT had a significant effect (all P<0.01) on microbiome beta diversity in faeces and caecum. The polymerase chain reaction analysis using specific primers revealed Enterobacteriaceae presence in the faeces of male rabbits only at 18 and 22 h. Our results suggest that the caecotrophic behaviour of rabbits allows them to be particularly resistant to hunger despite their small size. However, to limit Enterobacteriaceae shedding, the FWT should not exceed 18 h.

The control of pathogens is of great importance to maintaining safe water quality for animal consumption and reducing the spread of pathogens in the environment and throughout the production chain. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is an attractive nanoparticle for disinfection purposes because it is easy to use, highly effective under UV radiation and cost effective. The goal of this study was to assess the disinfection effectiveness of TiO2-coated materials (high-density polyethylene, HDPE and stainless steel, SS) and UV-A LED light of non-coated materials, and the impacts of temperature and bacteria concentration in disinfection. Three TiO2 composites, two synthesized and one commercial (namely, TiO2, Ag- TiO2 and P25 TiO2), were assessed for their removal photocatalytic efficiency of methylene blue (10 mg/L). P25 TiO2 showed fast photocatalytic efficiency after two hours of treatment, reaching 98% efficiency after 4 h. The immobilization method M1 (fast cured epoxy) of particles in the material showed the best adhesion to substrates (scale = 4 ASTM D 3359) and for TiO2-coated stainless steel in a pre-disinfection test at a temperature of 32.3 °C and efficiency of 55.2%. There were statistically significant differences in disinfection treatments between of TiO2-coated and non-coated materials under the influence of UV-A LED light (p < 0.05) at a control temperature of 26 °C. The resulting disinfection efficiencies for typical trough materials (coated (C) or non-coated (NC) HDPE; and SS) were ranked as follows: SS-C-Light (100%) > SS-Light (81.4%) > HDPE-C-Light (63.9%) > HDPE-Light (51.3%). High ambient temperature and initial bacteria concentration tended to reduce the disinfection efficiency. The presence of TiO2 on the coated surface was confirmed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray microanalyses (EDS). These results demonstrate the disinfection potential of TiO2-coated materials and UV-A LED light, and thus, they should be considered as valuable alternatives to deal with persistent E. coli contamination of cattle troughs.

Although future production of dairy goats is influenced by kid-rearing practices, little is known regarding which practices maximize kid growth, welfare, and future production success. The objectives of this survey study were to (1) identify common rearing practices of Canadian commercial dairy goat farms and evaluate their associations with 6 farm performance indicators and (2) determine if farms could be grouped by management style on the basis of the 6 performance indicators and compare rearing practices common across the different groups. A survey was sent by post or electronic media to reach dairy goat producers across Canada. The questionnaire contained 70 questions on the following areas of kid rearing: kidding management, care of newborn, colostrum management, milk and solid feeding in the preweaning period, health management, disbudding, housing conditions, weaning strategies, record keeping and growth monitoring, and farm performance data. Performance indicators, calculated on self-reported data, were 305-d milk production, preweaning mortality rate, diarrhea and respiratory disease prevalence, average daily gain from birth to weaning, herd milk production, and replacement rate. A total of 175 questionnaires were returned. After applying inclusion criteria, including herd size (≥40 goats) and completeness of surveys, 104 respondents from Ontario (n = 72, 69%), Québec (n = 23, 22%), and the Western provinces (n = 9, 9%) were retained for analysis, representing 29% of all Canadian producers. Farm sizes ranged from 42 to 2,500 (median = 190) goats. A large amount of variation in rearing practices and farm performance was found between farms. Colostrum and milk feeding management were found to be associated with all performance indicators except for kid respiratory disease prevalence, with timing of colostrum delivery and feeding method accounting for most the associations within each of the 2 areas. Replacement rate was mostly affected by whether or not kids were reared with their dam. Herds surveyed in the study could successfully be divided into 3 distinct groups (production-focused, longevity-focused, and low performance), representing different management styles on the basis of farm self-reported performance levels. Rearing practices found to be associated with higher farm performance could be targeted by advisory services to help improve management practices on Canadian dairy goat farms.

This study aimed to characterise the quality of meat from commercially-raised rabbits. Animals came from five different producers and were laughtered in three different plants under provincial or federal inspection jurisdiction. Animal behaviour evaluated by scan sampling prior to feed withdrawal (FW) and transport, as well as blood lactate concentration at exsanguination, did not raise concerns with respect to stress. Stomach pH was higher (P=0.047) when the FW time was short (≤13.5 h), at a mean value of 2.23. All pH values measured 1 h post-mortem from the Biceps femoris (BF) and almost all (97.6%) from the Longissimus lumborum (LL) were higher than 6. Values for ultimate pH measured 24 h postmortem(pHu) ranged from 5.80 to 6.83 and from 5.70 to 6.70 for BF and LL muscles, respectively. The maximum meat drip loss recorded was 2.6%, while cooking loss reached 30%. Meat lightness (L*) and colour intensity (C*) for the long FW times (≥23 h) were no different from those with short and intermediate (15.5 to 17.3 h) FW times. However, these colour parameters were higher for the short FW time class compared to the intermediate FW time class (P<0.02). A hierarchical cluster analysis based on pHu, cooking loss and lightness (L*) from 200 rabbit loins was performed. Of the four clusters created, clusters 1 and 2 had the best and second-best meat quality, respectively. Clusters 3 and 4 had the lowest meat quality and presented DFD-like (dark, firm and dry) characteristics. Meat did not exhibit PSE-like (pale, soft, exudative) characteristics, even for the slaughter lot with the minimum mean pHu. Of the eight slaughter lots evaluated, more than 50% of the meat from three of them fell into clusters 3 and 4; all three were in the intermediate FW time class. Overall, the quality of rabbit meat analysed was acceptable for commercial use, but rather variable. This suggests that there are factors within the value chain that are not yet fully controlled and require further investigation.

The increasing public concern for animal welfare has pushed the poultry sector to progressively replace conventional battery cages (CC) for laying hens with alternative systems such as enriched cages (EC) and aviaries (AV). The aim of this study was to compare laying performance, egg location, and egg quality associated with these three housing types. The experiment was conducted in twelve pilot-scale chambers fitted out with one of the three treatments. Each chamber housed 30 Lohmann LSL-Lite laying hens from 23 to 32 weeks of age. The available area was 492, 780, and 1120 cm²/hen for CC, EC, and AV, respectively. The EC and AV chambers were equipped with nest boxes, perches, and a pecking/scratching area (PSA). In the AV chambers, hens had free access to a space arranged in three levels with a wood shaving litter on the ground level as a PSA. Hen-day production was recorded and egg quality assessment included egg cleanliness, weight and proportion of each component (albumen, yolk, and shell) but also pH, Haugh unit, and meat spots for albumen; color intensity and blood spots for yolk; thickness and resistance for shell. The laying rate and egg weight were similar for CC and EC (around 96.5% and 59.5 g; P > 0.05). For AV, these parameters were significantly lower (77.2% and 58.6 g; P < 0.001) but the differences compared to the cage systems progressively reduced across time. Nearby 70% of the eggs were laid in the nests with EC while almost all of the eggs were laid on the litter at ground level with AV. The rate of clean eggs was around 77% for both cage systems compared to 14% for AV. Most of egg quality traits were identical for the three systems (P > 0.05) but there was a lower yolk proportion for eggs laid in AV (25.2% versus 25.7% for cages systems; P < 0.001) and higher shell resistance for eggs laid in CC (40.7 N versus 39.3 N for alternative systems; P < 0.001). Lower laying performance observed with AV could be explained by higher animal activity and competition for facilities, but these factors were not measured in this study. The reduction of the difference in egg productivity over time compared to cage systems suggest the need for a period of training/adaptation for pullets/hens kept in such an environment. An enriched cage system seems a balanced solution that combines both laying productivity and improved animal welfare. Further research should be performed to improve acceptance and appropriate use of resources by birds in an aviary system.

The aim of this study was to examine the safety and reliability of a research-grade implantable pump for controlled delivery of insulin glargine in cats. For this purpose, a small telemetrically controlled drug delivery pump with a refillable reservoir was implanted into the subcutaneous tissues of the dorsal neck in 10 clinically healthy cats. The reservoir was filled with insulin glargine, and the pump was programmed to deliver four boluses of 0.25 IU/kg, 2–3 weeks apart. As a control, insulin glargine (0.25 IU/kg) was injected SC. Blood glucose and plasma insulin glargine concentrations were measured before each bolus and SC injection and for 8 h afterward. Cats were monitored for signs of discomfort.Pumps were easily implanted and well tolerated by all cats. The experiment was completed in five of 10 cats. In four, the pump failed because of technical reasons; another cat developed severe hypoglycaemia attributable to insulin leakage. Overall, plasma insulin glargine increased after six of eight (75%) initial boluses and after one of 16 (6%) successive boluses. Glucose decreased after seven of eight (88%) initial boluses and after four of 16 (25%) successive boluses. Only the first bolus significantly increased plasma insulin glargine (P = 0.008) and decreased glucose (P = 0.008). Of 20 SC injections, 10 (50%) increased plasma insulin glargine (P <0.001) and 12 (60%) decreased glucose (P <0.001). The pump did not cause discomfort in cats, but life-threatening hypoglycaemia occurred in one. Frequent device problems suggest that the pump needs improvements. Because successive boluses did not increase plasma insulin glargine, this type of insulin may not be appropriate with the pump.

Abstract Kid rearing is the foundation of goat milk production, yet little is known about how to raise replacement does efficiently to make healthy and productive dairy animals. This study aimed to identify the common rearing practices of Canadian commercial dairy goat farms (≥40 goats/farm), from birth to weaning, and to determine best management practices to improve herd performances. A survey was sent to dairy goat producers across Canada by post or email, and 104 respondents were selected for analysis. The 70-questions survey collected information regarding kidding management, care of the newborn, feeding in the preweaning period, housing, weaning and herd performances. Respondents were from Ontario (69%), Quebec (22%) and the Western provinces (9%). Farm sizes ranged from 42 to 2,500 (median: 190) goats, and most producers (64%) were relatively new to goat milk production (≤10 yrs). A large amount of variation in rearing practices was seen across farms. Ad libitum milk was offered on 55% of farms, and there was no consistency as to when concentrates, forages and water were first offered to kids. Weaning criteria was predominantly a mix of age and weight of the kid (36%), followed by age only (27%) and weight only (22%). Weaning age varied between 4.5 and 20 (median: 8) wks and weaning weight varied between 9 and 35 (median: 15) kg. Weaning methods ranged from abrupt (37%) to different progressive strategies (20% skipping milk feedings, 19% reducing milk quantity, and 10% diluting milk with water). This research provides the dairy goat industry with information concerning current common kid rearing practices used on Canadian goat farms, and the lack of consensus indicates that further research is necessary to determine and refine the best kid rearing practices for Canadian farms.

The present work evaluated the effects of feed supplementation with plant extracts (onion, cranberry) and a commercial essential oil product (Xtract™) on rabbit meat quality. Five groups of 48 weaned Grimaud female rabbits each received a control ration (C) or a diet supplemented with onion extract (500 or 1000 ppm), cranberry extracts (500 ppm) and essential oil product (100 ppm) alone or in combination. Microbiological quality was evaluated on whole hind legs stored under aerobic and anaerobic conditions at 4 °C. Growth performances, feed intake and both meat composition and quality were similar amongst the experimental groups. Anyhow, meat total phenolic content was significantly higher in all supplemented ones (P < 0.001). Diet supplementation effect was observed (P < 0.05) and microbial control was improved more importantly under anaerobic conditions, notably for Total Aerobic Mesophilic counts, presumptive Pseudomonas and Enterobacteriaceae (P < 0.03). Overall, supplementation with onion extract (500 ppm) suppressed microbial growth more effectively.

This study addresses the improvement of meat microbial quality by enriching the diet of farm animals with a protective culture. Weaned Grimaud rabbits were divided into two experimental groups: a control and a diet supplemented with Micocin® (Carnobacterium maltaromaticum CB1; 8Log10CFU/kg of feed). Overall, meat quality was not affected substantially by the treatment. Total Aerobic Mesophilic (TAM), Escherichia coli and other coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas spp., Listeria spp. and presumptive lactic acid bacteria counts were evaluated on whole thighs stored under aerobic (0, 3, 6, 8days) and anaerobic (0, 5, 10, 15, 20days) conditions at 4°C. The results demonstrated that the microflora on refrigerated thighs was modulated by the addition of Micocin® (P<0.05) and that the most effective reduction of Listeria monocytogenes growth was observed with ground meat stored under anaerobic conditions at 4°C with a 2 Log difference at the end of a 15-day storage (P=0.025).

A total of forty 24 kg male Dorset weaning lambs were allocated in four dietary treatment groups: ad libitum concentrates (C), restricted concentrates (RC), zero grazing (ZGR), and grazing (GR). Lambs were slaughtered at 47 kg. Meat from grass-fed lambs (ZGR and GR) had a lower ultimate pH (P = 0.04) and L* value (P = 0.03) compared with that from C-fed lambs. However, a*, b*, hue angle, chroma values, shear force, myofibrillar fragmentation index, sarcomere length, as well as fat, protein, and collagen contents were not affected by dietary treatments (P > 0.05). No difference was found in juiciness and tenderness, but typical lamb flavour was more pronounced in C-fed lambs than in GR-fed lambs (P = 0.03). Grazing and ZGR increased the percentage of cis-9, trans-11 C18:2 (P < 0.0001), and total n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA; P < 0.01) and decreased the ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFA (P < 0.0001) in the longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle, whereas C-fed lambs had higher proportion of trans-10 C18:1 (P < 0.0001) and lower proportion of trans-11 C18: 1 (P < 0.0001) than the other treatments, which may indicate an altered rumen biohydrogenation. Dietary treatments had minimal effect on meat eating quality but affected meat fatty acid profile.

This experiment was conducted to compare the impact of corn and barley on growth performance, meat quality, and muscle fatty acid (FA) composition of goat kids. Twenty-four Boer males (25.1 +/- 1.5 kg) were blocked by body weight and allotted randomly within block to one of three experimental diets. Treatments consisted in varying ratios of barley to corn in the concentrate: (1) 100: 0, (2) 50: 50, and (3) 0:100. Fifteen randomly selected kids (n = 5 kids per treatment) were slaughtered and longissimus thoracis et lumborum was collected. Inclusion of barley in the diet linearly increased concentrate intake (P < 0.01) and tended to increase average daily gain (P = 0.08). There were no significant differences on carcass traits and meat quality among treatments. Levels of n-3 and n-6 FA increased linearly (P < 0.01), whereas n-6: n-3 ratio linearly decreased (P < 0.01) as corn inclusion in the diets increased.

The effects of dietary supplementation of onion, cranberry, strawberry and essentials oils on meat quality were analysed. Five groups of 48 Grimaud female weaned rabbits received the supplemented or the control ration; the experimental unit was a cage of 6 rabbits. Each experimental diet contained 10 ppm of added active ingredients. Rabbits were fed with the experimental diets for 4 wk before determining slaughter and carcass traits and determining the pH at 1 and 24 h post mortem (pHu) of the Longissimus dorsi (LD) and the Biceps femoris (BF) muscle, left and right, respectively. Cooking loss, drip loss and L*, a* and b* color parameters were obtained of the right LD and for ground meat and antioxidant status (TBARS, DNPH, Folin Ciocalteu). Only the pHu of the LD muscle for the strawberry supplemented group was significantly lower when compared to the control group (P=0.04). However, we note that for the pH of the LD, the average was less than 6 for the meat of animals who received a diet enriched in polyphenols, compared to the control group. Plant extract supplementation did not influence meat quality traits, growth performance or oxidative stability. But under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, our results indicate that diet supplementation with extracts rich in polyphenols, especially with essential oils, had a small bot sporadic positive effect in reducing bacterial microflora compared to the control group (P<0.05). In conclusion, plant extracts and essential oils can be used in a rabbit diet without adverse effects on performance and meat quality traits. This effect could be optimized by investigating higher doses.

Recently, Canada made an agreement to reduce CH4 emissions. In the agricultural sector, methane is largely produced by cattle and a large part come from the animal itself due rumination. Improving ruminal efficiency could help reduce emission and thus contribute to the national reduction effort. Ruminants and camels evolved to use fibrous roughage. Fibrous feed remains in their stomach where microbial population like bacteria and protozoa ferments it to produce microbial protein and as a fermentation by-product, volatile fatty acids. These provide an energy source that the host animal can use for maintenance as well as for production functions, such as growth and milk production. Protozoa species in camelids are different and allow better

Forty lightweight calves (206.4±3.2 kg) were randomly distributed to four treatments: (Control) low nutritive value pasture and hay plus 1 kg d−1 of rolled barley; (Pasture) management intensive pasture; (Haylage) timothy haylage; and (Kale) 50% timothy haylage −50% kale pasture. Blood samples were analysed for thyroid hormones, liver enzymes, glucose, cholesterol, total proteins (TP), albumin, globulins, and urea-N. At the end of the trial, the Pasture group was the heaviest with 323.6±4.2 kg BW and 1.54 kg ADG. Final BW and ADG were similar for the Kale and Haylage groups. Blood T3 was higher for Kale than for the other groups. The T3/T4 ratio was greater for Control at the end of the experiment. There were no treatment differences for T4, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH), cholesterol, and glucose. Blood urea-N was lower for Kale and higher for Pasture; however albumin concentrations were greater for Pasture and similar for other treatments. Except for the Control group, calves had a lower concentration of circulating globulins at the end than at the beginning of the experiment. This study showed that Kale could be fed to backgrounding calves without detrimental effects on performance.

Microbial protein synthesis in the rumen would be optimized when dietary carbohydrates and proteins have synchronized rates and extent of degradation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of varying ruminal degradation rate of energy and nitrogen sources on intake, nitrogen balance, microbial protein yield, and kinetics of nutrients in the rumen of growing kids. Eight Boer goats (38.2 ± 3.0 kg) were used. The treatments were arranged in a split-plot Latin square design with grain sources (barley or corn) forming the main plots (squares). Grain processing methods and levels of protein degradability formed the subplots in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement for a total of 8 dietary treatments. The grain processing method was rolling for barley and cracking for corn. Levels of protein degradability were obtained by feeding untreated soybean meal (SBM) or heat-treated soybean meal (HSBM). Each experimental period lasted 21 d, consisting of a 10-d adaptation period, a 7-d digestibility determination period, and a 4-d rumen evacuation and sampling period. Kids fed with corn had higher purine derivatives (PD) excretion when coupled with SBM compared with HSBM and the opposite occurred with barley-fed kids ( ≤ 0.01). Unprocessed grain offered with SBM led to higher PD excretion than with HSBM whereas protein degradability had no effect when processed grain was fed ( ≤ 0.03). Results of the current experiment with high-concentrate diets showed that microbial N synthesis could be maximized in goat kids by combining slowly fermented grains (corn or unprocessed grains) with a highly degradable protein supplement (SBM). With barley, a more rapidly fermented grain, a greater microbial N synthesis was observed when supplementing a low-degradable protein (HSBM).

At reduced costs, industrial wastes enable usage of protein and mineral mixtures as ingredients in the formulation to improve the productive capacity. The aims of this study were to evaluate the carcass parameters of finishing sheep in pasture during the rainy season and to evaluate the effect of replacement of traditional protein source (soybean meal) by sources of low degradability in the rumen like cotton meal and brewery waste (dried and ensiled). We used 40 male sheep of Santa Inês breed, with average weight of 22.0 ± 3.14 kg, grazing on Aruana grass (Panicum maximum), receiving supplementation of 100 g/animal/d for 4 treatments, plus a control without supplementation. Treatments were represented by supplementation offered for sheep grazing at the end of the rainy season during 30 d (between March and April). The treatments were composed as follows: T1– mostly of dried brewer grain (DBG), T2– silage of brewer grain (SBG), T3– cotton meal (CM), T4– soybean meal (SBM) and T5– without supplement (control–C). The experiment was designed with randomized blocks, with 2 blocks (n = 20), 4 repetitions by treatment. Differences were not observed for carcass among the treatments evaluated (P > 0.1) with respect to pH of the carcass (5.14 ± 0.77), weight of thoracic organs (1.44 ± 0.31 kg), carcass length (55.5 ± 2.96 cm), body condition (2.52 ± 1.03), skin thickness (0.40 ± 0.09 cm), length of ham (50.9 ± 2.21 cm), ham weight (1.72 ± 0.35 kg), leg circumference (33.1 ± 2.15 cm), loin weight (0.32 ± 0.091 kg), palette (0.90 ± 0.23 kg), rib (1.33 ± 0.39 kg), neck (0.49 ± 0.10 kg) and diaper (0.19 ± 0.54 kg), water loss (16.1 ± 2.61 mL), tenderness (2.79 ± 0.95 kgf). The hot and cold carcass weight varied among the treatments (P < 0.05) comparing the supplemented and control. They were 12.3 and 11.9 kg (DBG), 10.6 and 10.4 kg (SBG), 8.5 and 8.2 kg (CM), 9 and 8.7 kg (SBM), 11.5 and 11.2 kg (C), respectively. The carcass weight had better trend for DBG and the worst one for the CM treated animals. Therefore the usage of brewer waste showed that it can be employed to replace protein sources without disparity in the carcass parameters.