Abstract: Objective: To study the slaughtering performance and meat quality characteristics of Hu sheep and its hybrid offspring with Southdown sheep. Methods: Six-month-old Hu sheep and F1 hybrid of Southdown × Hu sheep at the same age under the same feeding and management conditions (n = 6 each) were selected for slaughter. The slaughtering performance of sheep, and the nutritional, eating and processing quality of lamb meat were determined. Results: Compared with Hu sheep, the live mass (62.68 vs 53.32 kg), carcass mass (34.34 kg vs 29.65 kg), protein content (21.88 vs 20.87 g/100 g) and polyunsaturated fatty acid/saturated fatty acid (PUFA/SFA) ratio (1.49 vs 1.03) of the hybrid significantly increased (P < 0.01); the net meat mass (29.09 vs 25.14 kg), eye muscle area (27.69 vs 19.40 cm2), cooking loss (67.30% vs 63.82%), essential amino acid content (8.09 vs 7.87 g/100 g), total amino acid content (20.15 vs 19.62 g/100 g) and polyunsaturated fatty acid content (3.28 vs 2.72 mg/10 g) also significantly increased (P < 0.05), whereas the back fat thickness (2.80 vs 4.41 mm), GR value (4.54 vs 7.26 mm), shear force (41.05 vs 52.52 N), cholesterol content (50.80 vs 59.70 mg/100 g) and saturated fatty acid content (2.21 vs 2.66 mg/10 g) significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Crossbreeding with Southdown sheep can significantly improve the slaughtering performance of Hu sheep, and increase the water retention capacity and tenderness of Hu sheep meat as well as its nutritional value and health-beneficial function.

Key words: Southdown sheep; Hu sheep; hybridization; slaughtering performance; meat quality characteristics