Table 5.
Means and standard errors (M ± SE) of live animal performance and carcass characteristics of prime lamb progeny from different sire breeds
| Dorset | White Suffolk | Merino | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial BW (kg) | 37.3 ± 1.1 | 36.7 ± 0.6 | 31.8 ± 0.9 | 0.0002*** |
| Final BW (kg) | 46.8 ± 1.6 | 45.7 ± 1.0 | 40.1 ± 1.1 | 0.0016** |
| Total weight gain (kg) | 9.5 ± 1.0 | 9.0 ± 0.7 | 8.3 ± 0.7 | 0.4418ns |
| Av. Daily gain (g) | 194.5 ± 20.3 | 183.7 ± 14.5 | 169.0 ± 14.8 | 0.4418ns |
| Pre-slaughter weight (kg)c | 47.0 ± 1.6 | 45.7 ± 1.0 | 42.2 ± 1.78 | 0.0540ns |
| HCW (kg)d | 22.0 ± 0.9a | 21.3 ± 0.8a | 16.5 ± 0.9b | 0.0030** |
| CCW (kg)d | 21.7 ± 0.9a | 21.0 ± 0.8a | 16.2 ± 0.9b | 0.0031** |
| Dressing percentage (%) | 46.7 ± 0.8a | 46.3 ± 1.2a | 39.2 ± 1.7b | 0.0078* |
| Fat thickness (mm) | 4.7 ± 0.4a | 4.3 ± 0.3a | 3.3 ± 0.5b | 0.0467* |
| Body wall thickness (mm) | 16.1 ± 1.1 | 15.6 ± 0.7 | 13.8 ± 1.2 | 0.2648ns |
| GR fat score (1–5) | 3.7 ± 0.3 | 3.6 ± 0.2 | 3.1 ± 0.3 | 0.3013ns |
| Yield grade | 2.3 ± 0.5a | 2.1 ± 0.1a | 1.7 ± 0.8b | 0.0470* |
| Rib eye area (cm2) | 15.6 ± 0.5a | 15.5 ± 0.5a | 12.3 ± 0.8b | 0.0022** |
| BCTRC %e | 48.7 ± 0.2 | 49.0 ± 0.2 | 49.0 ± 0.3 | 0.5937ns |
| OTHf | 109.8 ± 4.2a | 106.3 ± 3.9a | 82.5 ± 4.6b | 0.0030** |
cPre-slaughter weight is the weight of animals (minus Merino ewes) prior to transport for slaughter. dHCW = Hot carcass weight. eCCW = Cold carcass weight. fBCTRC% = Boneless, Closely Trimmed Retail Cuts. fOTH = Over the hooks trade (this was based on 500¢ AU return per kg of HCW). Level of significance: ns not significant (p > 0.05), * significant (p < 0.05), ** highly significant (p < 0.01), and *** very highly significant (p < 0.001). Different superscripts indicate significant differences within each row (p < 0.05)