The effects of slaughter age and muscle type on meat quality properties of Eastern Anatolian Red (EAR) bulls (n=46) were investigated in the present study. Forty-six EAR bulls were slaughtered at 15, 17, 19, 25 and 27 months. Meat samples were taken from longissimus dorsi (LD) and gluteus medius (GM) muscles obtained from the carcasses at 24 h post-mortem. Meat color parameters were significantly affected by slaughter age. Older animals (19, 25 and 27 months of age) possessed higher L^*, a^* and H values than those of younger animals (15 and 17 months of age). LD muscle had higher L^* and a^* values than those of GM muscles. The influences of slaughter age and muscle type on the proportions of dry matter, ether extract, crude ash and crude protein were not significant in the present study. The influence of slaughter age on the tenderness, acceptability, juiciness, number of chews and Warner–Bratzler shear (WBS) values were found to be significant. Tenderness, juiciness, flavor intensity and acceptability increased until 19 months of age, and then increase in age resulted in lower tenderness, flavor intensity and acceptability scores. Cooking yield significantly increased depending on the increase of age. WBS and cooking yield values from the LD were higher than that of the GM muscle. Textural characteristics such as hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, gumminess, chewiness and resilience were not affected by slaughter age, but muscles had a significant influence on hardness, gumminess, chewiness and resilience. In conclusion, most eating quality characteristics and color parameters were positively influenced by slaughter age.

Topal, M., Yildiz, N., Esenbuğa, N., Aksakal, V., Macit, M. and Özdemir, M. 2003. Determination of best fitted regression model for estimation of body weight in Awassi sheep. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 23: 201–208. In this research, linear regression models were improved for estimation of body weights using various body measurements from Awassi sheep. Simple and multiple regression models were formed when body weight (BW) was dependent variable and body length (BL), heart depth (HD), height at wither (HW), height at shoulder (HS), shin girth (SG), chest width (CW), heart girth (HG), pump width (PW) were independent variables. The best-fitted regression model for estimation of body weight was determined by using mean square error (MSE_p), R² _p and C_p statistics. The model including body length, heart depth, heart girth and pump width was the best fitted model (R² _P=0.851, MSE_P =8.803, C_p=5.972) for estimation of body weight in Awassi sheep in this study.

This study was carried out to determine the effects of cage density and anise extract (AE), thyme extract (TE), and black cumin extract (BCE) supplementation in the diet of laying hens on laying performance, egg quality, and some blood parameters. A total of 288 Lohman White commercial hens were blocked according to the location of their cages. The four dietary treatments included a control, basal diet + 250 mg/kg of AE, basal diet + 250 mg/kg of BCE, and basal diet + 250 mg/kg of TE for 12 weeks. The cage density affected egg production (p < 0.05), feed consumption (p < 0.01), and cracked eggs (p < 0.05). Increasing the cage density caused a linear decrease in egg production and feed consumption. Compared to the control, there was a decrease in feed consumption (p < 0.01) in the plant extract groups, and in parallel, egg production decreased. An increased cage density did not affect the egg quality traits except the shell strength. The shell strength, yolk color, yolk index, albumen index, and Haught unit were significantly affected by the plant extracts. The cage density and plant extracts had a significant effect on the serum corticosterone and glucose (p < 0.01). The highest values of corticosterone and glucose were recorded for dietary TE with a cage density of 4 birds/cm². On the other hand, the lowest values of these parameters were recorded for AE addition with a cage density of 3 birds/cm². As a result, an increased cage density was associated with stress and depression in the feed consumption and metabolic profiles. Supplemental AE, BCE, and TE improved the laying performance and metabolic profiles.