Apr 11
12
Ostrich Meat Yields in Slaughter Birds
Over the years advising new start ups in ostrich farming, the misunderstanding of ostrich meat yields and the difference in carcass weight and boneless meat is one error that is frequently seen.
The article on Ostrich Meat illustrates an ostrich carcass. This shows the bones as well as the muscles before they are deboned by comparison to the illustration here which illustrates the different muscles removed from the bone with their membrane/silver-skin removed.
An area of confusion for those starting ostrich farming is familiarising oneself with the relative values of the different components of the ostrich carcass. Errors here can make a significant difference in the budgeted revenue for the new enterprise.
Killout percentage is the Carcass Weight of the bird expressed as a percentage of the Total Live Weight of the bird. Dressout percentage is the Boneless (saleable) Meat Weight of the bird expressed as a percentage of the Total Carcass Weight. Ostrich currently is sold “off the bone” with the exception of the neck.
The definition of carcass weight varies from country to country and even between slaughter plants within the same country. It is important that all new to ostrich farming understand the definition used in their situation and the basis of payment if they are selling slaughter birds and not involved in the processing. Be wary of selling slaughter birds based on liveweight.
The meat taken from an ostrich carcass is currently extremely variable as a direct result of the variable rearing methods. Another reason is the reduced skills/experience of staff in multi-specie slaughter plants as a result of their limited experience with ostrich.
The muscles are generally split into 5 main groups – Fan Muscle, Small Tender Muscles, Large less tender muscles, small less tender muscles and trim. The age the bird is slaughtered and the nutritional program the bird was fed impact on the quality of those muscles. Muscles on a well reared bird will often be tenderer than the normally tender muscles on a poorly reared and/or older bird. For budgeting purposes tender muscles are ±25%, less tender muscles ±35% and all other meat ±40%. These figures do not include offal. When developing the financials in your Business Plan ensure you have the price received for the meat relative to your buyer – selling to processor, wholesale or retail and if selling deboned muscles or full legs.
In value the Fan is usually the most valuable muscle as more can be done with this larger muscle, with the tender muscles a similar or slightly reduced price and the less tender muscles a lower value. The industry often refers to the tender muscles as filet, the less tender as steak and the balance as trim. This is misleading as those same muscles in an old breeder bird and/or poorly produced bird will not be filet (tender) quality.
Understanding the yields of the different muscles of ostrich meat and their market value is critical to successfully costing an ostrich farming enterprise.
