MEAT EXPORT TRADE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20243, 1 May 1929, Page 7

MEAT EXPORT TRADE.

135T H.B.T.

PRODUCTION OF LAMBS.

SECURING EARLY MATURITY. BREEDING AND FEEDING.

In view of the steadily increasing importance to the Dominion of the meat ex-' port trade, and in particular of tho development of the fat lamb trade, it is of vital interest to farmers to study tho relative influence of breeding and feeding in connection with early maturity and conformation.

Early maturity, as we generally interpret the term, is tho rapid progress oi growth toward the development of meat production, and in this age of the demand for small joints, meat production is not dependent to the same extent as formerly on the growth of the skeleton or frame.

At birth an animal's bones; are developed most, and it will be noted that flesh which is really constituted of muscle and sinew, is next in importance to bone in nature's scheme of development, while fat is last. This relative importance of bone growth is maintained after birth and until maturity is reached, hence to get animals which will develop flesh and fat at an early age, we must choose those whoso frames demand the least amount, of nourishment to develop them normally, A* knowledge of this fact is of the utmost importance to breeders c>f fat lambs in their selection of the type of ewe most likely to give them early maturing lambs, and is still more important in the selection of tho rams which itliey intend to mate with these ewes. •- A Common. Mistake. The close relationship existing between conformation and early maturity appears frequently to be overlooked by the farmer, who evinces a preference lor big-framed sheep when he is purchasing ewes to mate with the Southdown ram. By his selection of this type of ewe for the breeding of Southdown-cross lambs, the farmer is going a long way toward counteracting the influence of the small-bohed, lowsefc Southdown sire, ■ and though these lambs, when fat, may be bigger and heavier —a questionable advantage—they will take longer to fatten and will not. make nearly such attractive carcases.

Many years ago Bakewell realised that to mature early and have a propensity to fatten, animals must be small in the bone and low-set; these being prominent features in the breeds which he improved, —the Longhorri cattle and English Leicester sheep.

Subsequently breeders came to think too much of size, paying unwarranted attention to. abnormal development of frame. This was understandable in the colonies before the days of refrigeration, for then wool was the great consideration. Nowadays, however, wool is' second to early maturity on the average farm, but the old ideal, the " big-boned, roomy ewe " is still fostered to tlie detriment of fattening qualities. The Part Feeding Plays. .Breeding is not solely responsible for conformation. We may breed from the most perfectly-formed stock with the object of securing a well-developed, earlymaturing lamb, but unless that lamb is fed so that it has an abundance of nourishment from before it is boirn until it goes to the butcher, its conformation will suffer .as well as its early maturity. As a young animal grows, its conformation changes. Thus, before birth its head and logs are abnormally big. At birth these are still out of proportion to the rest of the body, which is short and shallow, with the loins and rump—-the most important part of a meat-animal — comparatively undeveloped. With a wellnourished young animal this part of the frame grows at a faster rate than the head and legs, and so the proportions of the animal change rapidly toward the meatproducing ideal. The animal which has large, coarse boues, naturally niak<;s a heavier first demand on all nourishment which it absorbs, for the development of these, and it is only that nourishment which .is left over, the surplus, which goes into the formation of flesh, and flesh is equally responsible with frame in the development of conformation. Value' of Rapid Development.

Those animals which develop most rapidly for their age have the best meat conformation, while those which develop least have the worst. A slowly developed animal has a greater proportion of bone to meat in its carcase than one which reaches maturity early, and is, therefore, less valuable to the butcher and considerably less valuable to the consumer: The young, growing animal, if kept in " store " condition, will continue to grow in frame, while the muscles or flesh will develop only sufficiently to control the movements of the frame, and there will be a total absence of fat. If, however, an abundant ration is fed, tho proportion of flesh and fat to bono increases enormously, and we get early maturity. When a breeding flock is kept during pregnancy so that the animals have abundant nourishment and sufficient exercise to keep them from putting on internal fat and so cramping the development of the foetus, the young are usually born with a big proportion of flesh to bone. The farmer should aim, by liberal feeding on a flesh-and-fat-t'orming ration to maintain and increase this flesh and add fat to it. If once this condition is lost, and the frame continues to grow whilo tho flesh-formation stands still, it takes much fodder and time to bring the famb to prime condition again.