Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T19:25:25.721Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Muscle growth and distribution of muscle weight in Clun and Southdown sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

B. W. Butler-Hogg  and
O. P. Whelehan
B. W. Butler-Hogg
Affiliation:
Ruakura Animal Research Station, Private Bag, Hamilton, New Zealand
O. P. Whelehan
Affiliation:
Institute of Food Research — Bristol Laboratory, Langford, Bristol BS18 7DY
Get access

Abstract

A total of 56 sheep, 28 Clun and 28 Southdown were slaughtered, five of each breed, at birth, 50, 100, 150 and 200 days and three of each breed at 415 days of age. The left half of each carcass was separated anatomically into individual muscles, bones and fat depots. For the purposes of analysis, individual muscles were assigned to one of eight muscle groups, depending upon their anatomical location.

The relative growth of some individual muscles was found to change over this age range, as indicated by a significant squared term in the quadratic allometric equation: this was true for proportionately 0·33 of the muscles in Clun and for proportionately 0·44 of those in Southdown, accounting for proportionately 0·33 and 0·47 of total muscle weight in Clun and Southdown respectively.

Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to derive the multivariate analogue of the quadratic part of quadratic allometry: the sign of the loading on the second principal component had the same sign as the change observed in bq, the quadratic relative growth coefficient. Thus, PCA offers the potential to identify simultaneously, and independently of shape or conformation, all those muscles whose relative growth coefficients change over the period examined. It could be applied successfully to breed comparisons of conformation.

The cumulative effects of changing relative growth rates of muscles were small. Muscle weight distribution appears to be almost fixed within the first few weeks after birth. Despite their differences in conformation and mature size, Clun and Southdown lambs had similar distributions of muscle weight at the same age; the high valued muscles constituted 513·8 g/kg total muscle in Clun and 514·7 g/kg total muscle in Southdown lambs at 200 days of age.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 44 , Issue 1 , February 1987 , pp. 133 - 142
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1987

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

Blackith, R. E. and Reyment, R. A. 1971. Multivariate Morphometrics. Academic Press, London.Google Scholar
Brown, A. J. and Williams, D. R. 1981. Beef carcass evaluation — measurement of composition using anatomical dissection. Memorandum, Meat Research Institute, No. 47.Google Scholar
Butler-HOGG, B. W. 1984. The growth of Clun and Southdown sheep: body composition and the partitioning of total body fat. Animal Production 39: 405–411.Google Scholar
Butler-HOGG, B. W. and Brown, A. J. 1986. Muscle weight distribution in lambs: a comparison of entire male and female. Animal Production 42: 343–348.Google Scholar
Butler-HOGG, B. W., Francombe, M. A. and Dransfield, E. 1984. Carcass and meat quality of ram and ewe lambs. Animal Production 39: 107–114.Google Scholar
Butler-HOGG, B. W. and Whelehan, O. P. 1984. Fat partitioning and muscle distribution in Texel and Scottish Blackface rams. Proceedings of the 35th Annual Meeting of the European Association for Animal Production, The Hague.Google Scholar
Butterfield, R. M. and Berg, R. T. 1966. A classification of bovine muscles, based on their relative growth patterns. Research in Veterinary Science 7: 326–332.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Butterfield, R. M., Zamora, J., James, A. M., Thompson, J. M. and Williams, J. 1983. Changes in body composition relative to weight and maturity in large and small strains of Australian Merino rams. 2. Individual muscles and muscle groups. Animal Production 36: 165–174.Google Scholar
Jolicoeur, P. 1963. The multivariate generalization of the allometry equation. Biometrics 19: 497–499.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jury, K. E., Fourie, P. D. and Kirton, A. H. 1977. Growth and development of sheep. IV. Growth of the musculature. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 20: 115–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kempster, A. J., Croston, D. and Jones, D. W. 1981. Value of conformation as an indicator of sheep carcass composition within and between breeds. Animal Production 33: 39–49.Google Scholar
Kirton, A. H. and Pickering, F. S. 1967. Factors associated with differences in carcass conformation in lamb. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 10: 183–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lohse, C. L., Moss, F. P. and Butterfield, R. M. 1971. Growth patterns of muscles of Merino sheep from birth to 517 days. Animal Production 13: 117–126.Google Scholar
McClelland, T. H., Bonaiti, B. and Taylor, St C. S. 1976. Breed differences in body composition of equally mature sheep. Animal Production 23: 281–293.Google Scholar
MacFie, H. J. H. 1978. Quantifying breed difference in shape. In Patterns of Growth and Development in Cattle (ed. Boer, H. De and Martin, J.), pp. 691–704. Nijhoff, The Hague.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marriott, F. H. C. 1974. The Interpretation of Multiple Observations. Academic Press, London.Google Scholar
Murray, D. M. and Slezacek, O. 1975. The effect of growth rate on muscle distribution in sheep. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 85: 189–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, St C. S., Mason, M. A. and McClelland, T. H. 1980. Breed and sex differences in muscle distribution in equally mature sheep. Animal Production 30: 125–133.Google Scholar
Tulloh, N. M. 1964. The carcase compositions of sheep, cattle and pigs as functions of body weight. In Carcase Composition and Appraisal of Meat Animals (ed. Tribe, D. E.), pp. 5.1–5.16. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Melbourne.Google Scholar
Wardrop, I. D. and Coombe, J. B. 1960. The postnatal growth of the visceral organs of the lamb. I. The growth of the visceral organs of the grazing lamb from birth to sixteen weeks of age. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 54: 140–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wenham, G. and Pennie, K. 1986. The growth of individual muscles and bones in the red deer. Animal Production 42: 247–256.Google Scholar
World Association of Veterinary Anatomists. 1972. Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria. International Committee on Veterinary Anatomical Nomenclature.Google Scholar