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One study was undertaken to push the boundaries on what could be achieved with lambs purchased earlier in the season. Again, Scottish Blackface and Texel-cross-Scottish Blackface lambs were used, with the only difference to Study 1 being an earlier purchase date of the end of July, resulting in higher liveweight gain from grass.
Performance of rams versus castrates was also compared as shown in Table 2.
The average daily gain was higher than the previous study, with the Texel-cross lambs in particular taking advantage of having developed a large frame and gaining on average from 315g daily to 364g daily, while the Scottish Blackface gained 218g to 255g, with ram lambs performing best in both breed types.
Lambs also consumed significantly more, but gave a good return on investment with the performance levels attained.
Ram lambs gained more during the finishing phase, but much of the higher gain was cancelled out by castrates having a higher kill-out.
The importance of regular weighing and drafting really came under the spotlight with the Texel-cross lambs quickly finishing into heavy weights, helped by a combination of high levels of daily liveweight gain and a high kill-out.
Castrated lambs were also more at risk of going over-fat with the greatest risk with the Scottish Blackface lambs.
Lamb finishing study 1: light lambs
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