A comparison of the fatness of weaned and unweaned lambs
R.W. Purchas
Sheep Husbandry Department, Massey University, Palmerston North
Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production.
1979, 39: 211-216
The possibility of manipulating the fatness of lambs by varying
the time of weaning was investigated using 28 Hampshire- and 28
Southdown-cross lambs from Border Leicester x Romney ewes. Half the
lambs were not weaned prior to slaughter and half were weaned at 80% of
the same predetermined slaughter weight as their unweaned controls.
Slaughter weights for each breed/sex group were chosen with the aim of
producing carcass with an average fat cover of 3 to 4 mm at the 12th
rib. Growth rates of the weaned lambs were about 20% slower than the
controls (P<0.001) as they grew from 80 to 100% of their slaughter
weights, and although most measures showed the unweaned lambs to be
fatter, the differences were small and generally not significant.
Measures of muscling and objective measurements of meat tenderness did
not reveal any important treatment effects. Breed and sex effects are
also discussed.
Keywords: NZSAPAB;
Last Updated 12-09-1998
