Suckled single lambs, 6 weeks of age at slaughter, were used to study the melting point, iodine value, fatty acid composition and softness index of carcass fat. The lambs, born in mid-October in central Greece, were suckled from birth to slaughter and received no supplementary feed. They consisted of 43 Sarakatsaniko, 22 Karagouniko and 29 Chios x (East Friesland x Karagouniko). At slaughter, samples of subcutaneous fat from the base of the tail and perinephric fat were removed and stored at – 10 °C until analysed.

Melting point and iodine value were determined by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (1980) and International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (1977) methods of analysis. Gas-liquid chromatography, on 12% diethyleneglycol succinate as stationary phase, was used for fatty acid methyl esters analysis. Softness index was calculated.

Component fatty acids in decreasing order of proportion in total fat were oleic, palmitic, stearic, myristic, palmitoleic, linoleic, linolenic, lauric and capric acids. The total of odd-numbered n-acids and branched chain acids occupied a position approximately mid-way. There was very little evidence of differences between the sexes. However, the differences between the two fat depots and those between breeds were significant in most of the traits. Significant correlations between some of the traits studied and also linear regression equations between selected variables were obtained.

Our objective was to provide basic information that can be used to direct sheep production to produce meat, which meets consumer demands. Here, we present the results of a series of studies that were designed to assess the effect of different production systems on carcass quality characteristics of lambs from Greek dairy breeds of sheep.

Recent studies on the production and marketability of sheep meat in Greece have shown that response of the small ruminant sector to changing consumer demands has been to produce consistently larger and leaner lambs all year round. Moreover, purchases of such meat are likely to favour less exploitative systems of production (Zygoyiannis et al. 1999). The idea is that such systems should constitute more environmentally and economically sustainable options. The objective of the current study was to investigate the potential of developing sustainable systems of sheep and goat meat production that are less depended on pharmaceutical control of gastrointestinal parasitism without comprising the quality of produced meat.

Quality of lamb meat is a topic of great importance to both retailers and consumers and has received considerable attention over the past few years (Wood et al. 1999). First of all, the theme is important for the future of sheep production. Sheep producers operate in competitive market and their survival is threatened because sheep meat is continually facing challenges to maintain/increase its market share. Second, it relates to the emergence of specific market desires. In this respect, it has been suggested that lamb meat, which meets the demands of individual markets, should be the objective if sheep production is to remain competitive (Sanudo et al. 2000). The objective of the current study was to investigate the effects of post-weaning nutrition and degree of maturity (or live weight at slaughter) on the eating quality of lamb meat produced by three dairy Greek breeds of sheep.

Carcass fat of meat producing animals has long been identified as one of the most important characteristics of overall meat quality. In this respect, consumer choices of particular food reflect their awareness of the link between health and consumption of fats particularly saturated. Lamb meat is considered to be excessively fat and this results in substantial loss in its marketability. This study was carried out to assess the effect of breed, sex, post-weaning nutrition, live weight at slaughter and their interactions on the fatty acid (FA) composition in carcass fat of lambs of three indigenous dairy Greek breeds of sheep.

The objective of this study was to assess the growth and development of carcass composition of entire male and female lambs of three Greek dairy breeds (Boutsko, Serres and Karagouniko), from weaning to live weights approaching maturity, when kept under conditions designed to be nutritionally non-limiting. Lambs were weaned at 6 weeks of age and given a high quality pelleted food ad libitum until slaughter at one offive different degrees of maturity. As expected, there were significant effects of breed and sex on both food intake and growth rate. The Gompertz growth function was used to characterize, for each genotype, the growth curve and to provide estimates of mature weight and appeared to describe adequately growth rate. For two breeds (Serres and Karagouniko) food intake (g/day) increased in a linear fashion with time up to approximately 24 weeks of age and then remained static for the last 10 to 22 weeks of the experiment; this coincided with the increased environmental temperatures during summer. No such plateau in food intake was seen for the Boutsko sheep. The estimates of mature weight (kg) for the females of each breed were: Boutsko, 60; Serres, 66; Karagouniko, 77. These were substantially in excess (1·4 times on average) of the pre-trial calculations of mature weight. The mature weights of the males were found to be not significantly different from 1·3 times the mature weights of the females. Relationships between carcass composition and weight were derived by allometric regressions. This study provides the first full description of the growth and meat production potential of the three Greek breeds; as such it is part of an overall study that aimed to characterize (for thefirst time as far as the authors are aware) nine sheep breeds from diverse regions of the European Union.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influences of age and condition score on the live weight of ewes of three Greek dairy breeds. Boutsko (no. = 225), Serres (no. = 292) and Karagouniko (no. = 301) ewes from individually recorded purebred flocks were weighed (±0·5 kg) and condition scored, on a six-point scale, to the nearest 0·5 unit. Within each breed and age group the relationship between live weight and condition score was derived by linear regression. There was a highly significant relationship between condition score and live weight in all of the groups (P < 0·01). Live weight, adjusted to a standard condition score, increased with increasing age up to 3·5 years; beyond this age there was no effect of age on condition score. The live weight and condition score data for ages 3·5 years and upwards were used to derive a single regression between live weight and condition score for each breed. This provides a means to estimate adult live weights standardized to a given condition score. The values of the regression coefficients were directly proportional to the breed mature weight; on average the increase in live weight associated with a unit of condition score was 0·129 kg/kg of mature weight for the three breeds studied. Mature weight was estimated as the weight at a condition score of 5. Using published information, a similar value was found to apply to a wide range of sheep breeds and also to cattle. This robust value permits the live-weight change associated with a unit of condition score to be calculated, for any breed.

The indigenous sheep breeds of Greece, which are used mainly for milk production, produce lambs which are killed at weaning to provide carcasses (including the head, pluck, liver, spleen and the omental and mesenteric fat) of 5 to 9 Kg. The production of heavier carcases could be of benefit if they are acceptable to consumers and if they could be economically produced. The purpose of this experiment was to characterise the growth and development of the entire males and females of three Greek breeds under conditions presumed to be non-limiting.

Animals. From each of three breeds, Boutsiko (B), Serres (S) and Karagouniko (K), 20 lambs of each sex were used in a serial slaughter experiment. Four animals of each breed/sex combination were killed at live weights which were 25, 35, 50, 70 and 100% of the estimated mature values. All sheep were weaned at 6 weeks of age and the males were entire.

An experiment was conducted to study the ability of the pig to recover from the effects of a period on a food deficient in crude protein (CP). Forty young pigs were given free and continuous access to foods with either 150 (L) or 252 (M) g CP per kg in period 1 of the experiment, from 6·3 kg to 13·4 and 12·3 kg live weight respectively. These live weights were expected to give equal lipid-free empty body weights. In period 2, four males and four females from each of the period 1 treatments were given access to either M or a food with 377 g CP per kg (H) to a live weight of 30 kg, when the 32 pigs were killed.

Pigs on L took 11 (s.e. 0·6) days longer to complete period 1, and had, at the end of this period, 0·20 (s.e. 0·03) kg less protein and 1·20 (s.e. 0·06) kg more lipid in their bodies than the M pigs, at a common ash weight. In period 2, pigs from L grew at a faster rate (750 v. 633 (s.e.d. 20) g/day), ate food at the same rate (1115 v. 1085 (s.e.d. 35) g/day) and converted food more efficiently (0·676 v. 0·585 (s.e.d. 0·016) g gain per g food) than those from M. At 30·3 kg live weight the pigs from L had corrected their protein deficit relative to ash and reduced their fatness, so that they had the same protein: ash ratio and only 0·47 (s.e. 0·12) kg more lipid in their bodies than those from M. This was the result of a higher rate of gain of protein and water, a lower rate of lipid gain and similar rate of ash gain by the pigs from L than those from M. In the first 7 days of period 2 the pigs from L gained weight at 1·4 times the rate of those from M. In the final 7 days there was no significant effect of period 1 treatment on growth rate. The pigs from L given food H in period 2 were more efficient than those given M in period 2 (food conversion efficiency (FCE) values of 0·884 and 0·791 respectively; s.e.d. 0·027), but this difference was reversed in the final 7 days (FCE values of 0·521 and 0·603 respectively). t I is concluded from these results that a period of eating a food of low protein content produces a reduced protein: ash and an increased lipid: ash ratio in the body and reduced growth rate and efficiency. When subsequently pigs are given a food of sufficiently high protein content, the protein: ash and lipid: ash ratios return to normal. The repletion of labile protein reserves, with their associated water, leads to a substantial increase in the rate of live-weight gain. The lower lipid content of the gain leads to a high efficiency. The duration of these effects depends on the protein content of the food given.

The nature of compensatory growth in pigs remains unclear. But should pigs have undergone a period of growth retardation after weaning be capable of enhanced utilisation of food fed at the same level as their unretarded contemporaries, then exploiting the phenomenon would appear attractive to producers. Compensatory growth defined in this way is illustrated in Fig. 1.

The most effective basis for derivation of simple feeding rules to ensure sow productivity is still in question. Liveweight change has emerged from a long series of feeding experiments as being potentially adequate for the purpose, however this has not net with success in pig units in the face of unwillingness by commercial sow herd managers to regularly weigh their sows. The most likely contender as an alternative to sow weight change as a measure of effective sow feeding is body condition; especially the amount of fat carried on the back. Indeed, it may be that body condition is a better indicator than live weight of the propensity of a sow to breed. It is possible to envisage recommended guidelines for feed allowances based upon condition score, or, more objectively, from a simple ultrasonic measurement of backfat depth at P2. The immediate objective of the current experimentation was to arrive at simple statements of targets for condition score and backfat depths which might be indicative of adequate and cost-effective sow feeding.