Comparison of three systems for concurrent production of lamb meat and wool

An innovative lamb-feeding facility with a raised-slatted floor (RF) was designed and built for the purposes of concurrently roducing high-quality, high-value wool and large, lean lamb carcasses. A ration was formulated to provide a low rate of gain in rder that lambs attained slaughter weight (59 kg) when they were approximately 12 month of age because a 12-month fleece is prerequisite for high value in the targeted hand spinning niche wool market. A study was conducted to compare production and uality of wool and meat and associated economics of feeding lambs housed in the RF system versus two conventional systems, feedlot (FL) and supplementation on pasture (P). For this purpose, 143 5-month-old, male, castrated Rambouillet lambs were btained and assigned to a production system. Half of the lambs in the RF and FL systems were fitted with protective coats. As lanned, daily gain was greater and days to slaughter were less in the FL versus the RF system, with P being intermediate. Final horn bodyweights were similar in each system, but RF dressing percentage was considerably lower than those in the FL and systems. This anomaly was likely due to the greater gut fill of RF lambs compared to those in the other two systems. Leaner arcasses were produced in the RF and P systems compared to the FL system. The RF fleeces were heavier than those produced in he FL system with P fleeces being intermediate. Average fiber diameter and variability did not differ among treatments. Though onsiderably longer than FL staples, wool produced in the RF system was more uniform (CV%) in terms of fiber diameter measured long the staple length. Importantly, coats did not affect rates of gain in either the FL or RF system and had minimal effects on ther measured properties. Coated fleeces were only arithmetically higher yielding than uncoated fleeces (55.2% versus 53.4%), but he coated fleeces were visually cleaner and brighter than uncoated fleeces, which is very important for the targeted niche market. rice obtained for coated RF wool sold into a niche market was five times higher than conventionally marketed FL and P wool rices. Net income per head was negative for all three systems (−US$ 0.11, −US$ 2.20, and −US$ 5.57 per head for FL, P, and F, respectively). In this study, the substantially higher returns from the niche wool market did not compensate fully for the extra ost of production and the extra effort required for niche marketing. 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.