Abstract
Summary An experiment that utilized the Suffolk breed as a standard of comparison was de- signed to evaluate the Columbia breed as a potential terminal sire breed. Lambs were born in 1978 to 333 Finncross ewes bred to Colum- bia (18) or Suffolk (10) rams. Breed of sire did not significantly affect ewe prolificacy, litter viability, number of lambs weaned per ewe lambing or litter weaning weight at 49 days of age. Litters sired by Columbia rams were lighter (P<.10) at birth than Suffolk-sired litters. Suffolk-sired lambs had higher (P< .05) birth weights, preweaning daily gains and wean- ing weights than lambs sired by Columbia rams. Sire breed effects on postweaning daily gain and 154-day weight were not significant but favored progeny of Suffolk rams by 4 and 2%, respectively. Columbia-sired lambs had lower leg conformation scores (P<.01), less fat depth (P<.05) and less percentage kidney fat (P<.10) than Iambs sired by Suffolk rams. Progeny of Columbia rams tended to have a greater esti- mated percentage of trimmed retail cuts (P< .10) and less carcass weight per day of age (P<.10) than Suffolk-sired lambs, while produc- tion of retail cuts per day of age was compara- ble for the two breed groups. Lambs sired by Suffolk rams had higher carcass conformation scores (P<.10), maturity scores (P<.05) and flank firmness scores (P<.10) than progeny of Columbia rams. Sire breed effects on carcass quality grade were not significant. We conclu- ded that Columbia rams produced progeny comparable in lean growth rate and carcass quality to progeny sired by Suffolk rams and Cooperation of the Nebraska Agr. Exp. Sta., Univ. of Nebraska at Lincoln, is gratefully acknowl- edged. 2 Roman L. Hruska US Meat Animal Research Cen- ter, AR, SEA. a Present address: Anim. Sei. Dept., Texas A&M Univ., College Station 77843. that the Columbia breed may serve effectively as a terminal sire breed. (Key Words-. Sheep, Ewe Productivity, Growth, Carcass Composition, Quality Grade.)
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