Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Meat Science
Genetic Evaluation Of Days To Harvest In Crossbred Lambs, R. M. Lewis, G. C. Marquez, M. H. Davies, D. R. Notter, Rainer Roehe, L. Bünger, G. Simm
Genetic Evaluation Of Days To Harvest In Crossbred Lambs, R. M. Lewis, G. C. Marquez, M. H. Davies, D. R. Notter, Rainer Roehe, L. Bünger, G. Simm
Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications
Days to harvest (DTH) is the number of days a lamb is fed before reaching a target level of fatness. Although economically relevant, this trait has not been thoroughly evaluated in sheep. Most lambs harvested in the United Kingdom are crossbreds sired by purebred terminal sires, with Charollais, Suffolk, and Texel most commonly used. Sires from these breeds were selected on an index designed to increase lean growth while constraining fat. The purpose of this research was to 1) evaluate the effects of index selection in terminal sires on DTH and 2) evaluate the feasibility of incorporating DTH into genetic …