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The effect of breed and age at slaughter on lamb growth, carcass composition and meat quality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2021

M. I. Mustafa
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
G. M. Webster
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
J. P. Chadwick
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
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Extract

In the UK there are many different breeds of sheep to suit all conditions and environments. Utilization of a breed is dependant on suitability for the environment, production system and acceptability of the carcass. This experiment was therefore designed to evaluate breed and age effects on performance, carcass composition and eating quality of lambs using a systems approach.

Lambs of five breed types were used, representing the stratification within the industry: Swaledale (SWD), Scottish Blackface (SBF), Mule, (Bluefaced Leicester x SBF; MUL), Suffolk x Mule (SxM) and Suffolk x (Rouge de l' Quest x SBF) (SxR). All lambs were finished off grass which was of subjectively similar quality at ADAS Redesdale and were slaughtered at estimated fat class 2 to 3L. For each breed type, there was 2 or 3 slaughter dates with 2 or 3 breeds being represented on each occasion.

Type
Animal Breeding
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 1996

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