Behaviour during lairage of 215 steers (7 mobs) and 44 bulls (3 mobs) was observed and related to meat quality measurements. Each individual animal was allocated an activity / temperature scale (ATS, 1 = active; 5 = calm) based on the observer’s impression after half an hour and a dominance scale (DS, 1 = dominant; 5 = subordinate) as determined by two-way win: loss table. Ultimate pH (pHu), meat colour and fat colour was recorded 24 hr post slaughter for each individual carcass. ATS = 1 steers has a trend for higher mean pH (5.64 relative to 5.49), with no significant differences occurring in any meat measurements for DS. Number of mounts in bulls (p<0.05) and the number of wins in steers were related to higher pHu. The inter-relationship of ATS and DS showed an effect on pHu, with ATS = 1 DS = 1 steers showing a rapid increase in mean pHu, with a more gradual rise occurring in DS = 5 animals. These measures of behaviour are of some use in identifying individuals at risk of high pHu and darker meat colour.[Show full abstract]
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