The Gene Ireland Progeny test centre recently slaughtered 52 bulls at Slaney Foods International, Bunclody, Co. Wexford. The progeny were sired by 20 different AI sires across 8 different breeds. It consisted of 52 August & September 2016 born bulls. The average carcass weight for the group was 377 kilos. The average daily gain for the group during their 90 day performance test period was 1.88 kilos per head per day. Average growth rate within the group ranged from 1.26 kilos to 2.26 kilos per head per day. The average kill-out for the group was 57.7%, with kill-out ranging from 52% to 63%.
Overall the animals graded extremely well with 3 of the bulls grading E, 39 of the bulls being of U grade conformation, 10 grading in the R grade class. 94% of the 52 bulls met the carcass fat specifications of 2+ or higher, this was a great achievement as many the bulls were only 13 months of age. The average dry matter intake (DMI) per day for the group was 13.6 kilos, with bulls consuming from 10.5 to 15.87 kilos per head per day on a DMI basis. The bulls were fed hay and ad lib concentrates over their 90 day finishing period. Overall the bulls performed exceptionally well for their age and were gaining 1.07 kilos of carcass for each day they were on test at Tully. The data demonstrates the large variation in performance between progeny in a young bull system.
See below photos of some of the progeny slaughtered.
All individual data on animals slaughtered recently can be found under the G€N€ IR€LAND section of the ICBF website (www.icbf.com). You can access the G€N€ IR€LAND section by clicking on the “services” tab which is located at the top of the homepage.
Key points
- Finishing period 90 days
- Number of bulls 52
- Number of sires 20
- Number of breeds 8
- Average DMI 13.6kgs
- Highest average daily weight gain 2.26kgs
- Avg. Carcase weight 377kgs
- No. of bulls hitting carcase fat spec 94%
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