Abstract:

Hybrid ewes of Small Tail Han sheep and local sheep in Tongliao, Inner Mongolia autonomous region was
crossbred with Suffolk rams. Totally 30 crossbred sheep between 6 and 10 months of age were castrated, and then fed under
two different environments in winter: in a sunlight greenhouse (group A) and a common sheep pen (group B), respectively.
Seven sheep were randomly selected from each group after the feeding experiment and slaughtered for sensory evaluation
and eating quality analysis of lamb meat. The results showed that there was no significant difference in meat color, marbling,
pH, water loss rate and cholesterol content between the two groups. The cooked meat yield, cooking loss rate and tenderness
of mutton were 44.57%, 13.96% and 4.5 kg for group A, and 48.01%, 18.86% and 6.82 kg for group B, respectively,
suggesting significant differences in respect of these three indexes between both groups (P < 0.05). Data showed that lamb
meat from group A was more easy to cook, producing higher meat tenderness, better taste and lower cooking loss rate. Fatty
acids, amino acids and minerals were abundant in mutton from both groups without significant differences.

Key words: wether, solar greenhouse, meat quality, sensory evaluation, influence