The experiment was conducted with the objective to study carcass and meat characteristics of Braford (5/8 Hereford + 3/8 Nellore) males, weaned at two ages, 72 (T72) or 210 (T210) days. Thirty-six non castrated males were feedlot finished and slaughtered with fourteen months of age. No significant difference was observed for muscle, fat and bone percentages, being the means across the two treatments of 63.29; 21.97; and 15.03%, respectively. The T72 males showed higher muscle/bone ratio than the T210 (4.49 vs 4.02), no difference between treatments was observed for muscle + fat/bone ratio. Meat color, texture and marbling were similar between the two treatments, being the average values 4.19; 3.31; and 5.75 points, respectively, for the T72 and 3.89; 3.63; and 5.63 points, respectively, for the T210. Meat tenderness was classified as slightly above average for both treatments and the Shear values were 7.36 and 7.17 kg, respectively, for the T72 and T210. T72 animals showed 6.32 and 5.97 points, respectively, for meat palatability and juiciness, for T210 animals these values were 6.41 and 6.08 points. Meat thawing losses and cooking losses were, respectively, 4.84 and 28.97%, for the T72 and 7.01 and 26.76%, respectively, for T210. Braford males weaned at 72 or 210 days and slaughtered at fourteen months of age, display meat with similar sensorial characteristics, indicating that both managements are adequate for young males meat production.
carcass physical composition; early weaning; meat quality; tenderness; young males
