Assessment of carcass productivity in buffalo and crossbred beef cattle under controlled intensive fattening conditions

Abstract

Carcass performance plays a vital role in determining the economic viability of fattening systems, particularly in intensive operations where production costs are high. However, comparative studies on carcass quality between buffaloes and crossbred cattle under standardized fattening conditions remain limited. This study aimed to evaluate carcass characteristics of five ruminant breed groups: Swamp buffalo (SWAMP), River buffalo (RIVER), Angus crossbreds (ANG), Brahman crossbreds (BRA), and Charolais crossbreds (CHA). Twenty healthy male animals (four per group) were fattened under identical feeding and management conditions for 180–240 days until reaching an average live weight of approximately 500 kg. Pre-slaughter measurements included wither height (WH), heart girth (HG), and live weight (LW), while carcass traits measured were hot carcass weight (HCW), cold carcass weight (CCW), hot carcass percentage (HCP), and cold carcass percentage (CCP). Data were analyzed using ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation coefficients. The results showed that the RIVER group had the highest WH and HG (137.75 ± 5.32 cm and 204.25 ± 9.71 cm, respectively). BRA yielded the highest HCP and CCP (61.08 ± 2.00% and 59.14 ± 1.57%, respectively), whereas SWAMP exhibited the lowest values for both traits (HCP: 51.98 ± 3.10%; CCP: 48.02 ± 4.75%). HG was negatively correlated with both HCP (r = -0.48) and CCP (r = -0.68), with statistical significance (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed among breed groups in terms of LW, HCW, or CCW. These findings indicate that animal breed significantly influences carcass performance, even under uniform feeding and management conditions. The results can be applied to support decision-making in breed selection and fattening strategies to enhance carcass yield and economic returns.