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Are there any advantages of leaving male lambs entire? The answer is certainly, yes, but producers who consider reaping the benefits must also be aware of the management challenges it creates, writes Jeremy Hunt
Ram lambs bred in commercial ewe flocks and left entire will finish faster, have better conformation and produce leaner carcasses compared with lambs that are castrated.
These advantages have been proven repeatedly in trials over many years, but for most sheep producers who intend to market their lamb crop in late summer, the idea of leaving ram lambs entire is seen as putting undue pressure on the way they have to manage their flock.
If lambs aren't castrated there are savings, albeit small, in the time and cost of applying rubber rings, but entire lambs can also pose a risk of producing meat with a stronger flavour or that carries taint.
So what are the other pros and cons of this vexed issue?
Pros
GROWTH RATES
The fact that entire lambs grow faster has most recently been proved yet again in trials conducted by Teagasc in Northern Ireland, where results showed lambs left entire achieved superior growth rates and weighed an average 1.8kg more at weaning compared with castrated lambs in the trial.
Entire lambs were also slaughtered 16 days ahead of the castrated lambs and produced leaner carcasses.
The average weight of entire lambs was 31.7kg compared with 29.9kg for the castrated lambs. The carcass weight comparison was 18.1kg for the entires compared with 182kg for the...