EFFECTS OF LIVE ANIMAL PERFORMANCE AND HEMOGLOBIN LEVEL ON SPECIAL-FED VEAL CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS

Growth and carcass characteristics were measured on 975 Holstein bull calves raised on four commercial veal farms (nine feeding groups). Ave rage values for blood hemoglobin (Hb), live weight and gain, dressing percentage (DP; hide-on and hide-off), visual muscle color score, rib- eye-area (REA), and carcass conformation score were 7.8 g/dl, 187.1 kg , 1.46 kg/d, 67.4%, 60.4%, 1.42, 42.0 sq cm, and 11.7, respectively. C arcass weights averaged 127.6 and 112.4 kg for hide-on and hide-off re spectively. There were few significant correlations of Hb with growth performance, carcass weight or DP. Pre-slaughter Hb was correlated 0.5 4 (P < 0.01) with flank muscle color score. Calves which were either h eavier or which gained weight more rapidly tended to have slightly low er muscle color scores, larger REA and higher carcass conformation sco res. Results from this study suggest that pre-slaughter Hb levels are higher than previously reported in special-fed veal, and there is no a pparent relationship of Hb value, red blood cell count or mean corpusc ular hemoglobin with growth performance traits. Although final Hb valu es were moderately predictive of muscle color score (accounting for 29 % of the within-group variance), apparently there are other factors bo th within and between farms which influence muscle color in special-fe d veal carcasses.