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Carcass characteristics of Dorper ram lambs weaned at different ages

Norhayati, Z.^1*, Wan Zahari, M.² and Shanmugavelu, S.³

¹Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, 88460 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
² Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, City Campus, 16100 Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Bharu, Kelantan
³Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, 43400 Serdang, Selangor

Malaysian J. Anim. Sci. 2018 21(1): 29-39

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Two aspects that are always considered as emphasis in farm production are body weight of live animals and their carcass characteristics. The carcass characteristic determines the market price of meat and carcass yield affects the farm profit. The carcass characteristics of Dorper ram lambs weaned at different ages were evaluated at similar slaughter age of 270 d. A total of 27 newborn Dorper ram lambs were selected randomly and divided into three groups of 9 animals each. Animals in groups 1, 2 and 3 were weaned at 30, 60 and 90 d, respectively. Group 3 served as a control group based on the current weaning practice. Creep feed containing 18% CP and 12 MJ/kg ME was provided to the respective groups of lambs at 3.5% of the animal mean body weight before weaning followed by grower feed containing 14% CP and 10 MJ/kg ME after weaning at 3.5% of the animal mean body weight. The average live weight of groups 1, 2 and 3 before slaughter were 42.17?8.01 kg, 43.83?3.33 kg and 45.00?6.25 kg, respectively. However, the mean weight was not significantly different among the treatment groups. The cost of production of groups 1, 2 and 3 were RM1.35, RM1.15 and RM1.57, respectively. Compensatory growth from not getting the dam?s milk showed that group 1 ate more feed given to them compared to group 2 but less than group 3. The different ages at weaning did not influence carcass yield (live weight, carcass weight, carcass length, dressing percentage, meat weight, bone weight and meat to bone ratio) or body composition (organs and fat) of Dorper ram lambs. From this experiment, the cost of production was minimal when the animals were weaned at 60 d because the mortality was highest when the animals were weaned at 30 d. Therefore, it is concluded that Dorper sheep can be weaned as early as 60 d of age to maximize farm profit.