Growth performance, carcass traits, and meat quality of Awassi and Cukurova Meat Sheep lambs

Awassi sheep are widely raised in semi-arid regions due to their adaptability to harsh environmental conditions, while the Cukurova Meat Sheep (CMS) breed was developed to improve meat production and carcass characteristics. However, information comparing the growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, and nutritional composition of these breeds under the same fattening conditions remains limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality parameters in male Awassi and CMS lambs reared under identical feeding and management conditions. The study included 20 single-born male lambs (10 Awassi, 10 CMS) of similar age and live weight. The animals were allocated by breed and randomly assigned to five pens per breed, with two lambs per pen. After a 2-week adaptation period, the lambs were fattened for 10 weeks on an $80:20$ concentrate-roughage diet. At the end of the fattening period, all animals were slaughtered, and some physical and chemical analyses of the meat were performed on the longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle. The results showed no significant breed differences in live weights or daily gains ( $p>0.05$ ), while feed intake and carcass weights were higher in Awassi lambs ( $p<0.05$ ). CMS lambs had higher muscle weight and proportion in some carcass parts, such as the forearm, rib, loin, and rump ( $p<0.05$ ). Except for the chroma value of the raw meat, no differences were observed in the pH, color, textural properties, or most chemical components of the meat. Potassium (K) and magnesium (Mg) concentrations were significantly higher in CMS lambs than in Awassi lambs ( $p<0.01$ ), whereas no significant breed differences were observed for the other minerals ( $p>0.05$ ). Furthermore, crude protein, arachidonic acid, and taurine levels were significantly higher in CMS meat ( $p<0.05$ ). These findings indicate that, although meat quality characteristics are generally comparable between the two breeds, CMS lambs offer advantages in terms of higher protein content and certain amino acid and fatty acid components in their meat.