Improvement of growth performance through crossbreeding in the Pyrenean suckling lamb protected geographical indication

The production of Pyrenean suckling lambs is a way to contribute to the economic activity of the Pyrenees, the maintenance of sheep farmers, the preservation of the environment and the life of the region. In order to defend this product, it is necessary to re-evaluate precisely the interest of crossbreeding between local dairy breeds and local Pyrenean meat breeds, in terms of growth gain and weight at slaughter, but also of conformation and adaptation to the market. The trial compared purebred lambs (PB) and lambs crossed with beef breeds (SBCB) or with the Montagne Noire breed (MNCB). In accordance with feedback from the field, purebred lambs (PB) had lower growth performance (192.7 g/day vs 240 and 241 g/day in average) but also lighter slaughter weight (11.31 vs 12.43 and 13.5 kg) and carcass weight (6.42 vs 7.42 and 8.10 kg) than crossbred lambs (MNCB and SBCB respectively). Crossbreeding seems to affect fat color and especially the yellow index (b*): purebred lambs' fat is significantly less yellow than crossbred animals (p < 0.01). Crossbreeding also affects the color of muscles, the lambs crossed with Montagne Noire and purebred having lighter meat than lambs crossed with other breeds (p < 0.001). In our work, we found that purebred lambs were slightly tougher than Black Mountain crossbred lambs and significantly tougher than lambs from other cross-breeds (p < 0.05). This exploratory work thus provides the first characterizing elements of breeds and crosses that have been, until now, little treated in the literature.

Automated summary

The production of Pyrenean suckling lambs is crucial for the economic activity, environmental preservation, and livelihood in the Pyrenees region. Through a trial comparing purebred lambs and crossbred lambs, it was found that crossbreeding results in better growth performance, slaughter weight, and carcass weight. Crossbreeding also affects the color of fat and muscles, making them different from purebred lambs.