The necessary fundamentals and data will be developed in this project.

Mountain sheep and Merinoland sheep are the 2 most common sheep breeds in Austria. There are two types of breeding for mountain sheep: on the one hand, large-framed, heavy animals and, on the other hand, the even smaller, fertile type of old mountain sheep. The question always arises as to which animals and which production process can be used to produce quality lamb most economically. The necessary foundations and data are to be developed in this project.

The naturalness and reference to the landscape of the lamb meat product are central quality criteria and must be preserved. Nutritional criteria are also playing an increasingly important role. This is of great interest to organic sheep farmers. The project aims to investigate the influences of production technology (alpine farming, stable feeding, feeding intensity, time of slaughter) on these qualitative quality characteristics as well as on the quantitative characteristics of the carcass.

Milk production is not taken into account in breeding sheep for lamb production. However, youth development is an essential prerequisite for the production of young quality lambs. This requires the mother to have good milk production in the first 2 - 3 months. This project aims to show ways in which milk production in sheep can be estimated for lamb meat production and thus used as a selection criterion in breeding.

Detailed description and goals of the project; Characterization of the novelty and advantages compared to the current state of knowledge

This project will be carried out with a ewe flock of 60 mountain sheep and 30 Merino country sheep. The mountain sheep herd consists of 30 ewes of the heavy, large type (average 90 kg LG) and 30 ewes of the lighter, small-framed type (average 70 kg LG).

The aim of the project is to develop data that is necessary for business calculations. Furthermore, it should be possible to make a statement about the lamb meat product and its quality using different production techniques.

Central questions are:

• Breeding direction of the mountain sheep
• Alpine farming - paddock keeping
• Optimal final slaughter weight
• Milk production of the ewes
• Feeding intensity
• Meat quality

Breeding direction of the mountain sheep

There are two breeding styles in mountain sheep breeding.

For exhibitions and shows, the sheep and rams become larger and heavier. This is the only way to expect to be placed at the top. However, this is associated with a decline in fertility and, of course, a large amount of feed.

On the other hand, there are a lot of mountain sheep that would be inferior in exhibitions, but have good fertility and require significantly less feed.

However, there is no information about how much feed is required in each individual case and this will be the subject of this project. Furthermore, the question arises as to whether the growth and slaughter performance of the lambs from the two types is different or whether there can be differences in the final slaughter weight.

Knowledge of feed intake and performance of both mothers and lambs is of great importance for breeding decisions if sheep farming is to be economical.

Alpine farming - paddock keeping

The mountain sheep is ideally suited to alpine farming. The quality of the lambs that go to the pasture and come to the market in autumn is often not satisfactory. The question arises as to whether there are differences in lamb quality between the two mountain sheep types. In paddock farming, the sheep and lambs can be fed better according to their needs. The Merino sheep is ideal for paddock keeping.

This project aims to find an answer to the question of whether the Merino sheep is also suitable for keeping on alpine pastures in less exposed locations or how the two mountain sheep types behave in paddocks. First and foremost, it is about obtaining business-relevant data for the various production systems.

A close observation of the health status of the animals (parasite infestation and rot) is just as important a factor as the working time records for the individual production processes.

Optimal final slaughter weight

35kg, 40kg and 45kg are compared as the final slaughter weight. Depending on the production process, there may be differences in the optimal final weight and therefore in the quality. Knowing which final weight is best for the respective production process determines the success of sheep farming. However, the wishes of consumers must also be taken into account.

Milk production of the ewes

The early development of lambs depends primarily on the mother's milk production. A lack of supply to the lambs in the first 5-6 weeks due to poor milk production cannot be made up later and ultimately the quality of the lamb meat suffers. It is therefore of great importance to take milk production into account when breeding sheep that are used for lamb meat production. So far, milk production has not been taken into account in breeding in sheep due to a lack of methods for lamb meat production.

The Oxitocin method is intended to determine the daily milk quantity of the lactating sheep once a week and, at the same time, the weight of the lambs once a week. In practice, milk production can only be determined by the weight development of the lambs. The aim is to determine the time to weigh the lambs at which the live weight of the lamb has the best correlation to the milk quantity.

Feeding intensity

The use of concentrated feed in alpine grassland areas is repeatedly questioned. In practice, the intensive feeding of lambs with concentrated feed after weaning at 6-8 weeks is contrasted with the less intensive form of late weaning at around 3 months and possible final fattening in the stable. These two forms of lamb meat production should not only be seen from the perspective of the quick production of the lambs, but also the overall effort and ultimately the quality of the product must be taken into account. The use of concentrated feed is often a limiting factor, especially for organic farms. The naturalness and relationship to the landscape of sheep farming should be mentioned in this context.

Meat quality

The quality of the lamb meat product is increasingly playing an important role. Naturalness and reference to the landscape are central quality criteria and must be preserved. With this argument, organic farms can gain a certain advantage in marketing. This is somewhat at odds with the intensive feeding of concentrates to the lambs. Nutritional criteria are also playing an increasingly important role. The project aims to investigate the influences of production technology (alpine farming, stable feeding, feeding intensity) on these qualitative quality characteristics as well as on the quantitative characteristics of the carcass. The optimal time for slaughter depends on the breed or breed type and the intensity of feeding.

The lambs are slaughtered at a live weight of 35kg, 40kg or 45kg in the BAL slaughterhouse and the slaughter performance is determined.

The following parameters of slaughter performance are determined:

• Carcass weight warm
• PH value 1 hour after slaughter
• Carcass weight cold
• PH value 24 hours after slaughter
• Kidney fat percentage
• Proportion of cuts
• Meat, fat and bone content of a half of the slaughter

To examine the quality of the meat, a sample is taken from the leg and the large back muscle and examined for the following parameters:

At the LFZ Raumberg-Gumpenstein

• Fat content
• Protein content
• Water
• ash

At the Veterinary University of Vienna

• cholesterol content
• Fatty acid pattern
• Essential amino acids
• Purine content

At the Königshof experimental farm

• Flesh color
• Marbling
• shear force
• Grill loss
• Loss of cooking juice
• Sensory testing 

Experimental plan

*) For sheep in the alpine farming group, the lambs are weaned either when they reach their final weight or at the end of the alpine farming period and are fed until they reach the corresponding final weight.

The experiment begins with the 2002 alpine pasture period and is expected to end with the 2004 alpine pasture period. However, since the number of lambs cannot be precisely predicted, a possible 2005 alpine pasture period was still taken into account.