Effects of level and length of supplementation on leather characteristics of yearling Boer and Spanish wethers
| Title | Effects of level and length of supplementation on leather characteristics of yearling Boer and Spanish wethers |
| Publication Type | Conference Proceedings |
| Year of Conference | 2012 |
| Authors | Merkel, R, Liu, CK, Latona, N, A. A'mma, E, Goetsch, AL |
| Conference Name | XI International Conference on Goats |
| Pagination | 250 |
| Abstract | Spanish (S; 28 - 40 wk of age) and Boer (B; 33 - 46 wk) wethers were used to determine effects of level and length of supplementation on leather characteristics. The experiment started in January and had 110 and 108 day periods (PR). Wethers resided on pastures with free-choice access to alfalfa hay and supplementation (SL) with 0.5 or 1.5% BW (DM basis; L and H, respectively) of a pelleted diet (16% CP and 60% TDN). Five S and 6 B were harvested initially, and 12 per breed (BR) and SL were harvested after PR 1 and 2. Skins were salted for 10 to 14 days and then chrome tanned. There were BR differences in initial BW (33.3 and 23.7 kg, P≤0.06), initial thickness of leather (1.83 and 1.48 mm, P0.05) by BR (15.9 and 14.7 MPa for B and S, respectively) but was greatest (P |
