Journal article
Impact of Heatwaves on the Physiology and Retail Meat Quality of Lambs
M Zhang, RD Warner, FR Dunsheaa, K Digiacomo, A Joy, A Abhijith, P Prathap, T Ma, SS Chauhan
Foods | MDPI | Published : 2022
Abstract
The experiment investigated the impact of heatwaves (HWs) on the physiology, postmortem muscle metabolism and meat quality of lambs. Seventy-two second-cross lambs (Poll Dorset × (Border Leicester × Merino)) were selected and exposed to either 1, 3 or 5 days of HWs or ther-moneutal (TN) (28–38◦ C and 40–60% relative humidity, RH; 18–21◦ C, 40–55% RH) conditions in climate-controlled chambers. Lambs exposed to 1–5 days of a HW exhibited higher respiration rates (RRs), rectal temperatures (RTs), skin temperatures (STs) and heart rates (HRs) compared to lambs exposed to an equal duration of TN conditions. However, HWs had no significant effects on muscle metabolism (rate and extent of pH declin..
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Funding Acknowledgements
This research was funded by The Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Start-up Fund provided to Dr Surinder S. Chauhan. Minghao Zhang received Graduate Research Scholarship and Lindsay and Alice Gamble trust fund scholarship provided by The Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, The University of Melbourne.