To evaluate increased levels of dehydrated olive cake (DOC) in lambs ration on main carcass traits, 40 Suffolk Down male lambs (75.8 ± 7.4 days of age, 24.5 ± 3.1 kg live weight) were randomly assigned to one of five treatment groups. Four experimental isoenergetic and isoproteic diets were used with different levels of DOC: 0, 16, 32 and 48%, and an un-weaned group were kept with their mothers on grazing. Lambs had 8 days of adaptation to the diets, which were gradually introduced along with good quality alfalfa hay. During 47 days of the experiment, the lambs were confined in individual pens (1.4 m 2 ) and subsequently slaughtered at 123 ± 7 days with an average live weight of 32.56 ± 2.62 kg. The live weight at slaughter (LWS), hot carcass weight, cold carcass weight, commercial yield (CY), real dressing percentage (RDP), body components weight (blood, hide, head, legs, full and empty digestive tract, and viscera), rib eye area (REA), back fat thickness (BFT), renal pelvic fat weight, and commercial cutting yield (CCY) were recorded. Additionally, the tissue composition and its ratios were calculated from the shoulder and leg. The carcass traits, CY, RDP, and REA decreased and BFT increased with increasing amounts of DOC in the diet (P≤0.05). No significant differences (P>0.05) in CCY, tissue composition and ratios among the tissues of the shoulder and leg joints were detected. The addition of DOC to the diet did not affect the quality of the lamb carcass. Se evaluo la inclusion de alperujo deshidratado de oliva (ADO) en la racion de corderos sobre las principales caracteristicas de la canal, utilizando 40 corderos Suffolk Down (75,8 ± 7,4 dias de edad, 24,5 ± 3,1 kg peso vivo). ADO se incluyo en cuatro dietas: Dieta control con 0% ADO (DC), DC con 16, 32 y 48% ADO, mas un grupo a pastoreo que se mantuvo con sus madres. Durante el ensayo (47 dias), los corderos se mantuvieron en corrales individuales (1,4 m 2 ). Los corderos fueron sacrificados a los 123 ± 7 dias, y peso vivo promedio de 32,56 ± 2,62 kg. Al sacrificio se registro: peso vivo, peso de la canal caliente, peso de la canal fria, rendimiento comercial (RC), rendimiento verdadero de la canal (RV), peso de los componentes del cuerpo (sangre, piel, cabeza, piernas, el tracto digestivo lleno y vacio, y visceras), area del ojo del lomo (AOL), espesor de grasa dorsal (EGD), peso de grasa peri-renal y rendimiento de corte comercial (RCC). Adicionalmente, en espaldilla (E) y pierna (P) se estudiaron los componentes del tejido (CT) y sus proporciones (PT). El incremento de ADO en la dieta causo una disminucion de RC, RV y AOL y un aumento de EGD (P 0,05) en RCC, ni en CT y PT de H y P. La adicion de ADO a dietas de corderos, en los niveles utilizados en este trabajo, no afecto la calidad de la canal de cordero.

Three lamb feeding strategies were compared, including finishing of suckling lambs on an annual Mediterranean pasture (GRAZE), weaned followed by a concentrate plus hay diet (CONC), or weaned and fed a concentrate with 33% dry olive oil cake plus hay (CAKE). Grazing lambs averaged a liveweight gain of 334 g/day during the 28-day experimental period, which was higher (P < 0.05) than that of CONC and CAKE (283 and 276 g/day, respectively); however, there were no differences in empty body or dressed carcasses weights due to dietary treatment. The feed conversion of the olive seed cake supplement (kg supplement/kg gain) was lower (P < 0.01) than that of the maize-based supplement. Despite some significant differences between carcasses traits, all were small and of little commercial consequence. Simulation modelling of whole-system performance suggested that early weaning of lambs followed by concentrate feeding would reduce the finishing period, marginally increase the liveweight of ewes and would have little effect on pasture availability. It was further concluded that olive oil cake can be a large proportion of concentrate diets without negatively affecting carcass quality.

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the extent to which lamb carcass quality and fat composition could be altered by applying a dry olive cake-based ration instead of a conventional ration or pasture feeding. Three treatments were compared in a completely randomized experiment using 36 single male Suffolk Down lambs with an initial age and live weight of 80 d and 25 kg, respectively. The three treatments were: (a) suckling lambs kept with their mothers on annual Mediterranean grassland (GRAZE); (b) weaned stall-fed lambs on a control ration (CONC); and (c) weaned stall-fed lambs on an olive cake-based ration (CAKE). At the end of the 28-d experimental period, lambs were slaughtered, carcass quality evaluated, and samples of subcutaneous fat analyzed for fatty acids. Treatments did not differ in weight gain or carcass weight and quality, but highly significant differences were found in several fatty acid contents. CAKE animals had reduced palmitic acid as well as increased oleic and stearic acid contents. Atherogenic and thrombogenic indices improved with cake feeding. Principal component and discriminant analyses clearly differentiated treatments suggesting they could be applicable for traceability purposes. A laboratory experiment demonstrated that with or without added vitamin E, the dry olive cake did not alter its lipid properties with increased storage time.