International Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances 5(5): 183-189, 2013 ISSN: 2041-2894; e-ISSN: 2041-2908 © Maxwell Scientific Organization, 2013 Submitted: April 01, 2013 Accepted: April 15, 2013 Published: October 20, 2013 Corresponding Author: M. Abouheif, Department of Animal Production, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia, Tel.: +966-1-467-8487; Fax: +966-1-467-8474 183 Allometric Growth Patterns of Body and Carcass Components in Ardhi Goat A. Al-Owaimer, G. Suliman, A. El-Waziry, H. Metwally and M. Abouheif Department of Animal Production, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia Abstract: This study aims to evaluate the developmental trends and the allometric growth values of various body parts and fat depots of the most prevailing indigenous Saudi goat. Thirty male Ardhi kids were serially slaughtered at 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 kg live weight. As the kids grew, the bones of hind limb grew at slower rates than the bones of the forelimb and within each limb, the cannon bone grew relatively at a slower rate than the upper skeletal bones. The allometric coefficients for the growth of hot and cold carcass, liver, stomach compartments and lean relative to empty body weight were isogonic (b = 1.00), whereas coefficients of all internal fat depots, intermuscular and subcutaneous fat weights were heterogonic with the high growth impetus of b values greater than 1.00 (p<0.01). The developmental rates of the intestines and separated bones from cold carcass side were heterogonic with medium growth impetus. These results, showed that the highest growth coefficients were obtained for omental and perirenal fat indicating the late maturing characteristics of these depots, followed in a decreasing order by mesenteric and intermuscular fat, channel fat and finally subcutaneous and pericardial fat, which were the earliest developing depots. Keywords: Allometric growth, Ardhi kids, carcass partitioning, fat depots INTRODUCTION Within the expanding Saudi Arabian meat production enterprises, increasing emphasis is being placed on the importance of goat production in the overall economic viability of agribusiness industries; it provides the markets with 15.5 thousand tons of meat annually representing over 10% of total indigenous red meat production (FAO, 2010). Goat population in Saudi Arabia is exceeding 3.3 million and mostly in the hands of the nomads and small holder farms. Kids are raised by their mothers and slaughtered at 10-15 kg live weight to produce light carcasses (El-Waziry et al., 2011). With the desire for lighter and leaner carcasses, goat offers an attractive alternative to other types of red meat. The pattern of developmental growth and distribution of carcass tissues within the goat body has its own vital physiological significance and it is an area demanding extensive investigations. Several studies have shown that the partitioning of body components is influenced by slaughter weight (Bonvillani et al., 2010). In addition, McGregor (1985) and Dhanda et al. (2003) found a large heterogeneity in results of goat carcass composition between various goat breeds. Therefore, partition and growth of tissues should be determined for each breed. In Saudi Arabia, Ardhi goat is the most widely distributed indigenous breed in the central and northern areas. There is a dearth of published information on carcass composition from Ardhi goat. Therefore, this study attempts to define the development and distribution of carcass and non-carcass components in Ardhi male goat kids slaughtered at different weights. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty male weaner kids, of average body weight 7.6±0.2 kg and circa 45-60 days old, were selected for this study in an attempt to study the developmental changes and the distribution of carcass and non-carcass components in Ardhi goat kids slaughtered at different weights. Kids were purchased from a local farm; upon arrival to the experimental farm, kids were individually weighed, ear tagged, vaccinated, injected against internal and external parasites and vitamin A-D-E injections were given. Kids were randomly allocated to one of six equal groups of a given slaughter weight (10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 kg) and were serially slaughtered when the average body weight of each group reached the target weight. Each experimental group was housed in a 3×3 m yard located under roof in an open-sided barn. Kids were fed ad libitum fattening diet; the fattening diet was formed as a pelleted total-mixed ration consisting of (g/kg DM): 250 g alfalfa hay, 574.4 g barley, 75 g wheat bran, 49.4 g soybean meal, 3.8 g