The Gene Ireland Progeny test centre recently slaughtered 18 heifers at Slaney Foods International, Bunclody, Co. Wexford. The progeny were sired by 10 different AI sires across 6 different breeds.
The group consisted of 18 September 2016 born heifers. The average carcass weight for the group was 292 kilos. They average daily gain for the group during their 60 day performance test period was 1.31 kilos per head per day. Average growth rate within the group ranged from 1.02 kilos to 1.83 kilos per head per day. The average kill-out for the group was 53.5%, with kill-out ranging from 48.8% to 56.8%.
Overall the animals graded well with 5 of the heifers grading U, 12 of the heifers being of R grade conformation, 1 grading in the O grade class. All of the 18 heifers met the carcass fat specifications of 2+ or higher, this was a great achievement as the majority of the heifers were only 15 months of age. The average dry matter intake (DMI) per day for the group was 10.98 kilos, with heifers consuming from 7.66 to 14.37 kilos per head per day on a DMI basis. The heifers were fed hay and concentrates over their 60 day finishing period. Overall the heifers performed well for their age and were gaining .70 kilos of carcass for each day they were on test at Tully. The data demonstrates the large variation in performance between progeny in a heifer finishing 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 60 days |
| Number of heifers 18 |
| Number of sires 10 |
| Number of breeds 6 |
| Average DMI 10.98kgs |
| Highest average daily weight gain 1.83kgs |
| Avg. Carcase weight 292kgs |
