The Gene Ireland Progeny test centre at Tully, Co. Kildare, recently slaughtered 30 dairy-bred bulls at Slaney Foods International, Bunclody, Co. Wexford.
The progeny were sired by 18 different sires across three different breeds – Holstein Friesian (HO), Montbeliarde (MO) and Jersey (JE).
The group consisted of 30 February and March-2017 born bulls. The average carcass weight for the group was 330kg.
The average daily gain (ADG) for the group during their 97-day performance test period was 1.70kg/head/day; the average growth rate within the group ranged from 1.11-2.20kg/head/day.
Moreover, 100% of the 30 bulls met the carcass fat specifications of 2+ or higher.
The average dry matter intake (DMI) per day for the group was 14.18kg, with a range in consumption from 11.78kg/head/day to 16.37kg/head/day on a DMI basis.
The average feed efficiency for the group was 8.52, ranging from 5.46 to 12.00 and the bulls were fed hay and ad-lib concentrates over their 97-day finishing period.
The bulls achieved 0.88kg of carcass for each day they were on test at Tully.
Some of the animals slaughtered can be viewed in the gallery below. To view all individual data on animals slaughtered click here
Click on a thumbnail in the gallery (below) to open up a full-size image; once opened you can scroll sideways to see the next picture; refer to each caption to see the details of each bull.
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- Breed: JE; Sire: PSQ; Age: 24 months; DMI: 14.91kg/day; ADG: 2.04kg/day; Feed efficiency: 7.31; Final liveweight: 712kg; Carcass weight: 387kg; Kill out: 54%; Conformation and Fat Score: R=3=
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- Breed: HO; Sire: FR2056; Age: 24 months; DMI: 14.42kg/day; ADG: 1.33kg/day; Feed efficiency: 10.84; Final liveweight: 600kg; Carcass weight: 315kg; Kill out: 53%; Conformation and Fat Score: O+3-
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- Breed: HO; Sire: JE2047; Age: 23 months; DMI: 13.44kg/day; ADG: 1.66kg/day; Feed efficiency: 8.10; Final liveweight: 594kg; Carcass weight: 313kg; Kill out: 53%; Conformation and Fat Score: R-3=