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Determination of age of lamb carcasses from pelvic ossification

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

A. H. Kirton ,
P. J. O'Hara ,
I. M. Cairney ,
W. H. Bishop  and
P. M. Nottingham
A. H. Kirton
Affiliation:
Ruakura Agricultural Research Centre, Private Bag, Hamilton, New Zealand
P. J. O'Hara
Affiliation:
Ruakura Agricultural Research Centre, Private Bag, Hamilton, New Zealand
I. M. Cairney
Affiliation:
Meat Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, PO Box 2298, Wellington, New Zealand
W. H. Bishop
Affiliation:
Ruakura Agricultural Research Centre, Private Bag, Hamilton, New Zealand
P. M. Nottingham
Affiliation:
Meat Industry Research Institute of New Zealand, PO Box 617, Hamilton
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Summary

In a study involving over 300 pelves from lambs of known age at slaughter it was shown that time of ossification was poorly related to age of lamb. The youngest lamb with an ossified pelvis was a female aged 22·4 weeks and at the other end of the scale a third of a group of 45-week-old castrated male lamb pelves were not ossified. Female lamb pelves ossified earlier than castrated male lamb pelves. Carcasses with ossified pelves at a given age tended to be heavier than those with pelves not ossified and pelves of well-fed lambs probably ossified before those of poorly fed lambs. The results indicate that the suggested Codex method for a carcass classification or grading system for dividing lamb carcasses into those under and those over 6 mo of age at slaughter was not accurate. The reason for wanting such a classification is also questioned.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 21 , Issue 3 , December 1975 , pp. 257 - 264
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1975

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References

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