Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T19:31:02.121Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The growth of Clun and Southdown sheep: body composition and the partitioning of total body fat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

B. W. Butler-Hogg
B. W. Butler-Hogg
Affiliation:
Animal Physiology Division, AFRC Meat Research Institute, Langford, Bristol BS18 7DY
Get access

Abstract

The growth of Southdown and Clun lambs was studied over the period birth to 415 days of age.

At birth, 50, 100, 150 and 200 days of age five lambs of each breed, and at 415 days three lambs of each breed, were slaughtered and their body composition determined by dissection.

The relative growth of lean, bone and total body fat was not influenced by breed. At each age both Cluns and Southdowns had similar proportions of total body fat, and were considered to be at the same stage of maturity.

There was a breed difference in fat partitioning, with the Clun depositing proportionately more of its total body fat intra-abdominally, compared with the Southdown. However, there was no significant effect of breed on the growth of individual fat depots relative to total fat. From earliest to latest the order of maturity was pericardial, intermuscular, perirenal-retroperitoneal, mesenteric, subcutaneous and lastly, omental fat.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 39 , Issue 3 , December 1984 , pp. 405 - 411
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1984

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Brown, A. J. and Williams, D. R. 1981. Beef carcass evaluation — measurement of composition using anatomical dissection. Memo. Meat Res. Inst., No. 47.Google Scholar
Butler-Hogg, B. W., Francombe, M. A. and Dransfield, E. 1984. Carcass and eating quality of ram and ewe lambs. Anim. Prod. 39: 107–113.Google Scholar
Butler-Hogg, B. W. and Wood, J. D. 1982. The partition of body fat in British Friesian and Jersey steers. Anim. Prod. 35: 253–262.Google Scholar
Butterfield, R. M. and Thompson, J. M. 1983. Changes in body composition relative to weight and maturity of large and small strains of Australian Merino rams. 4. Fat depots and bones. Anim. Prod. 37: 423–431.Google Scholar
Fourie, P. D., Kirton, A. H. and Jury, K. E. 1970. Growth and development of sheep. II. Effect of breed and sex on the growth and carcass composition of the Southdown and Romney and their cross. N.Z. Jl agric. Res. 13: 753–770.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaili, E. S. E. 1978. A note on the effect of breed-type and sex on the distribution of intermuscular fat in carcasses of sheep. Anim. Prod. 26: 217–219.Google Scholar
Kempster, A. J. 1981. Fat partition and distribution in the carcasses of cattle, sheep and pigs: a review. Meat Sci. 5: 83–98.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McClelland, T. H. and Russel, A. J. F. 1972. The distribution — of body fat in Scottish Blackface and Finnish Landrace lambs. Anim. Prod. 15: 301–306.Google Scholar
McClelland, T. H., Bonaiti, B. and Taylor, St C. S. 1976. Breed differences in body composition of equally mature sheep. Anim. Prod. 23: 281–293.Google Scholar
Meat and Livestock Commission. 1975. Planned Crossbreeding and Lamb Carcase Weights. Revised ed. Meat and Livestock Commission, Bletchley, Milton Keynes.Google Scholar
Morand-Fehr, P. and Bas, P. 1983. Croissance et metabolisme du tissue adipeux choz le chevreau. Proc. 34th Meet. Eur. Ass. Anim. Prod., Madrid, Spain.Google Scholar
Notter, D. R., Ferrell, C. L. and Field, R. A. 1983. Effects of breed and intake level on allometric growth patterns in ram lambs. J. Anim. Sci. 56: 380–395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russel, A. J. F., Doney, J. M. and Gunn, R. G. 1971. The distribution of chemical fat in the bodies of Scottish Blackface ewes. Anim. Prod. 13: 503–509.Google Scholar
Seebeck, R. M. 1968. A dissection study of the distribution of tissues in lamb carcasses. Proc. Aust. Soc. Anim. Prod. 7: 297–301.Google Scholar
Thompson, J. M., Atkins, K. D. and Gilmour, A. R. 1979. Carcass characteristics of heavyweight crossbred lambs. III. Distribution of subcutaneous fat, intermuscular fat, muscle and bone in the carcass. Aust. J. agric. Res. 30: 1215–1221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Truscott, T. G., Wood, J. D. and MacFie, H. J. H. 1983. Fat deposition in Hereford and Friesian steers. 1. Body composition and partitioning of fat between depots. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 100: 257–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vezinhet, A. and Prud'hon, M. 1975. Evolution of various adipose deposits in growing rabbits and sheep. Anim. Prod. 20: 363–370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, D. R. 1978. Partition and distribution of fatty tissues. In Patterns of Growth and Development in Cattle (ed. Boer, H. De and Martin, J.), pp. 219–229. Nijhoff, The Hague.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, J. D. and Butler-Hogg, B. W. 1982. Deposition of fat and its partition between the major fat depots in meat animals. J. Sci. Fd Agric. 33: 810–811.Google Scholar
Wood, J. D., MacFie, H. J. H., Pomeroy, R. W. and Twinn, D. J. 1980. Carcass composition in four sheep breeds: the importance of type of breed and stage of maturity. Anim. Prod. 30: 135–152.Google Scholar