Abstract:
The effects of feeding supplementary energy to grazing pregnant and lactating Angora does and of rearing status on carcass quality and commercial acceptance of kids slaughtered at 20 weeks of age (mean ± sd, liveweight 15.0 ± 2.9 kg, range 8.3-23.1; carcass weight 6.1 ± 1.5 kg, range 2.8-11.0) are reported. The design was 5 levels of whole barley grain supplementation (GL) x 2 levels of forage availability (FL) x 2 replicates fed from 8 weeks before kidding to 8 weeks after kidding. Levels of GL were 0, 125, 250, 375 and 500 g/day. Levels of FL were: P - pasture with minimal supplements of lucerne hay, P+H - pasture with moderate levels of lucerne hay supplements. Replicates consisted of a group of 1 dry, 3 single parity and 1 twin parity doe allotted randomly following stratification based on parity, liveweight, faecal strongyle egg count, and mating time. Stocking rate was 5 does/ha. Green herbage availability increased from 200 kg DM/ha in June to 2200 kg DM/ha in November. An interaction between GL and FL affected carcass weight of single reared kids when no grain was fed with P significantly less than P+H (4.8 vs 6.5 kg, sed 0.58, P<0.05). GL affected mean carcass weight (P<0.05) particularly of single reared kids (P<0.05) with carcass weights significantly higher at GL 375. GL affected the proportion of carcasses acceptable to the commercial kid meat market in Melbourne with acceptance greatest at GL 375. More than half the twin kids in the experiment (21/40) had carcasses which were unsuitable for the kid meat market at 20 weeks of age.
