RELATIVE WEIGHT CHANGES IN TISSUES OF GIGOT JOINT AS SCOTTISH BLACKFACE CASTRATED MALE LAMBS DEVELOP FROM WEANING TO MATURITY AND AN ANALYSIS OF OBSERVED INDIVIDUAL VARIATION

Eighty-two Scottish Blackface castrated male sheep were used to test whether, from weaning to near maturity, the gigot grew exactly proportionally to the half carcass and whether the tissue in the gigot grew at the same rate as the respective tissue of the half carcass. While slight deviations from exact proportionality of growth occurred, none could be adjudged significant or important. If the gigot does not grow directly proportionally to the half carcass the data suggested that the gigot tended to grow slightly more slowly than the total half carcass over this period. If gigot muscle does not grow proportional to the total muscle the data suggested that gigot muscle might grow slightly more slowly. If growth of bone tissue is not directly proportional between the gigot and the half carcass the tendency was for the gigot bone to grow slightly faster than total bone while the fatty tissue of the gigot showed a slight tendency to grow more slowly than the half carcass fatty tissue. © 1969, British Society of Animal Science. All rights reserved.