@conference {41105,
	title = {Factors affecting behaviour, bruising and pHu in a deer slaughter premises},
	booktitle = {Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	volume = {59},
	year = {1999},
	month = {Jan},
	pages = {148-151},
	publisher = {New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	organization = {New Zealand Society of Animal Production},
	abstract = {Data from an on-going study at a deer slaughter premises were analysed. Over one year 3856 deer, primarily red x wapiti hybrids, from 101 farms were observed. During overnight lairage a mean of 14 (s.d. 7.6) antagonistic encounters/hr occurred. In the race immediately prior to stunning, rearing was the most common form of unsettled behaviour (17\% of deer). The incidence of unsettled behaviour differed between carriers (P<0.001). Bruising occurred in 24\% of carcasses, increased with load size (P<0.01) and poor weather conditions (P<0.05), and differed between carriers (P<0.05). Half (48\%) of all bruises were small and less than 5mm deep. Mean ultimate pH (pHu) was 5.65 (s.d. 0.139), and moderate-high pHu (>5.8) was prevalent in the shoulder (18.5\% of carcasses) followed by the loin (10.6\%) then the leg (5.6\%). Behaviour, bruising and pHu all differed significantly between farms and days (P<0.001). },
	issn = {1176-5283},
	author = {Pollard JC and Stevenson-Barry JM and Littlejohn RP}
}
