[Post-natal development of hematocrit in calves]

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Veterinary Medicine
• Food Science

Background:

• Meat color is a critical quality attribute influencing consumer choice.
• Hematocrit, a measure of red blood cell volume, can indicate an animal's physiological status.
• Understanding factors affecting meat quality in veal production is economically important.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between calf hematocrit levels and veal meat color.
• To determine how hematocrit changes from birth to three months of age in veal calves.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 470 milk-fed veal calves.
• Measurement of hematocrit values before slaughter.
• Correlation of pre-slaughter hematocrit with meat color (red, pink, white).
• Comparison of newborn and three-month-old calf hematocrit levels.

Main Results:

• Calves with pre-slaughter hematocrit >39.0 yielded red meat.
• Calves with pre-slaughter hematocrit 32.5-34.5 yielded pink meat.
• Calves with pre-slaughter hematocrit <25.0 yielded white meat.
• A decrease in hematocrit was observed for calves with birth values >38.9.
• An increase in hematocrit was observed for calves with birth values <32.3.

Conclusions:

• Pre-slaughter hematocrit is a significant predictor of veal meat color.
• Distinct hematocrit ranges correlate with specific meat colors (red, pink, white).
• Calf hematocrit exhibits differential changes from birth to three months based on initial levels.