An Unusually-heavy Bullock

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 79, Issue 5, 15 November 1949, Page 482

An Unusually-heavy Bullock

A N outstandingly-heavy Aberdeen Angus bullock which achieved Z * what is believed to be a record weight for the Manawatu was recently fattened by Mr. J. B. Mitchell, No. 1 Line, Kairanga. The liveweight at 9 years old was 23431 b. and the dressed weight 17791 b.

ABOUT 5 years ago Mr. Mitchell bought a line of Aberdeen Angus stores and among them recognised a bullock which had great fattening possibilities. He kept it until it was 9 years old and had grown into the biggest bullock seen in the district for many years. It was a perfect picture of what a fat bullock should be, and showed the predominant Aberdeen Angus body type; there was a dash of Shorthorn in its blood, which, according to expert opinion, shows up in the hindquarters. The liveweight was 1031 b. more than a ton and the carcass dressed out at 17791 b. When the carcass was trimmed of excess kidney fat, etc., and dressed for export the frozen weights were: Hinds 4271 b. and 4261 b. and fores 4091 b. and 3981 b., a total of 16601 b. export cut. Perfectly Proportioned The size of the carcass is difficult to' gauge from the accompanying photograph, as the beast was perfectly proportioned. A normal dressed side of beef hung alongside Mr. Mitchell’s heavy bullock would show . that the latter was twice the usual size.

Though some very heavy bullocks have been killed in the past, it is not possible to ascertain what are record weights because full information is not available. Some records of the breed, age, liveweight, and dressed weight may have been kept by owners of animals, and these would assist in determining the record weights of different breeds. As far as is known at present the heaviest weights raised in the Aberdeen Angus, Shorthorn, and Friesian breeds in New Zealand are as follows: Aberdeen Angus: 9-year-old owned by Mr. J. B. Mitchell; killed at Long-

burn in 1949; liveweight / 23431 b., dressed weight 17791 b. Shorthorn: 6-year-old owned by Mr. A. T. Smith; killed at Kaiti in 1942; liveweight 24921 b., dressed weight 17241 b. Friesian: Owned by Mr. A. Keith; killed at the Christchurch abattoir in 1926; dressed weight 2394J1b. This animal was the heaviest bullock of any breed known to be killed in New Zealand. ' —W. D. ROSS, Veterinarian, Department of Agriculture, Palmerston North.