With weaning approaching on many farms, a decision must be made between drafting lambs at a lighter weight or weaning and killing at a later date. For example, a well-fleshed young lamb at 40kg liveweight achieving a kill-out of 49% will deliver a carcase of 19.6kg. It will take a lamb of about 42kg to 43kg liveweight to deliver the same carcase post-weaning with the average kill-out rate generally falling by about 1% to 3%. This is only using one example and these figures will vary depending on the age and finish of lambs. Factors influencing the kill-out percentage is how the transition through weaning is managed with any dip in performance minimised by quickly offering lambs access to high-quality leafy grass swards.

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