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Carcass and eating quality of ram, castrated ram and ewe lambs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

E. Dransfield ,
G. R. Nute ,
B. W. Hogg  and
B. R. Walters
E. Dransfield
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute of Food Research — Bristol Laboratory, Langford, Bristol BS18 7DY
G. R. Nute
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute of Food Research — Bristol Laboratory, Langford, Bristol BS18 7DY
B. W. Hogg
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute of Food Research — Bristol Laboratory, Langford, Bristol BS18 7DY
B. R. Walters
Affiliation:
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Redesdale Experimental Husbandry Farm, Otterburn, Northumberland
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Abstract

Carcass and meat composition and eating quality of m. longissimus lumborum (LI) and leg joints were compared in entire male (ram), castrated male (wether) and female (ewe) Dorset Down-cross and Suffolk-cross lambs at about 20 weeks old. Rams grew faster than wethers and ewes particularly in the earlier maturing Suffolk crosses. Carcass weights ranged from 13 to 24 kg and at the mean carcass weight of 17·7 kg ram carcasses yielded larger shoulder joints. Ram carcasses were assessed visually leaner than those from the other sexes with similar conformation scores. Dorset Down carcasses tended to be fatter than Suffolk carcasses and the leanest carcasses were from Suffolk rams. Intramuscular fatness in LI was similar in all sexes. Intramuscular collagen contents were higher in ram LI than in other sexes. There were no differences in protein content, pH or colour of raw or roast LI. In assessments of eating quality of LI by triangle tests, male and female assessors differentiated twin rams and wethers equally. Category scaling showed LI from ewes to be slightly tougher than those from rams and wethers. Consumer evaluation of leg joints did not detect any differences in odour due to sex and ram meat was assessed better than that from wethers or ewes.

Keywords

carcass compositionconsumer preferenceslambsmeat qualitysex
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 50 , Issue 2 , April 1990 , pp. 291 - 299
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1990

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