Repeatability of weight-corrected ultrasonic fat-depth measurements made on ewes at intervals of one year

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Abstract
The repeatibility of ultrasonically measured fat depths in Southdown and Romney ewes was investigated by making these measurements shortly before mating in each of 4 successive years. Animals were allocated to fat or meaty groups within each breed based on the 1st weight-corrected measurement and group differences were effectively maintained over the duration of the experiment. The fat groups of both breeds had shorter average body lengths at a set weight than the corresponding meaty groups, but the groups did not differ significantly in withers height. Intra-class correlations indicated that weight-corrected assessments of fat depth, body length and withers height were only moderately repeatable over the 4 yr, with the values for fat depth of Southdowns (n = 68) and Romneys (n = 71) being 0.36 and 0.54, respectively.

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