Growing and slaughtering performance of Apennine heavy lamb finished at pasture in Central Italy

Abstract

Twenty-six Apennine male lambs were allotted into 2 groups, under different finishing systems: group P (maximum pasture allowance) and group S (intensive finishing). Lambs were slaughtered either at 30 kg of weight or at 110 days of age (in case they couldn’t reach final weight because of a sharp decline in pasture productivity in summer). Post-weaning ADG were significantly higher in the S group (about 77 g/d) and P lambs had lower weights, dressing percentage (due to higher gastro-intestinal apparatus content) and SEUROP conformation scores. Finishing lambs at pasture could have better results after an early weaning or using different mating strategies to escape the dramatic fall in pasture dry matter availability during summer.