Abstract

Experiments were carried out on a total of 27 beef bulls of the following breeds: Charolaise, Limousine, Angus and Simmental. After slaughter the skins were weighed and their surface area and thickness were measured. The aim of the study was to determine physical properties of the skins with a view to evaluating their surface efficiency.

A relationship between a skins’ surface area, calculated on the basis of body measurements and some selected indices of slaughter value, was verified. The skins of Simmental bulls were the heaviest in spite of their large surface area and did not attain high values of surface efficiency coefficient, unlike the skins of Limousine and Charolaise bulls.

Skin surface area calculated as product of chest girth x body length was correlated significantly with the surface determined by a linear method. The smallest proportion of skin to the body weight was characteristic of Charolaise bulls. Highly significant correlation coefficients were found between skin surface area and length of thigh, and spiral girth of thigh.