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Lamb birthcoat relationship to the adult fleece in Merino, coarse wool Barki and Merino × Barki sheep crosses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

R. A. Guirgis
R. A. Guirgis
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Production, Desert Institute, Matareya, Cairo, Egypt
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Summary

The present study was carried out on adult fleeces, of Merino, coarse wool Barki and five of their crosses, of known birthcoats. The adult fleece traits studied were clean fleece weight, mean fibre diameter and its variability and mean staple length and its variability.

Birthcoat-adult fleece relationship was dependent on the breed studied. In Barki, plateau array in the birthcoat developed to adult fleeces with higher values of mean fibre diameter and its variability, mean staple length and clean fleece weight than those with saddle array. In ⅝ Merino there was a gradient in staple length, running from plateau, via saddle, to ravine, with higher values of the coarser arrays. Differences occurred in variability of fibre diameter between plateau and saddle arrays in ⅜ and ⅝ Merino and between saddle and ravine in ½, ⅝ and ¾ Merino.

Differences occurred where birthcoats, with plateau array with precipice, in the curly-tip group, grew into adult fleeces with longer mean staple than those with transition in Barki sheep. In the other breed groups differences observed in saddle array, with different features, precipice or transition, at the birthcoat level, did not contribute differences in their adult fleeces.

Selection of Barki lambs with plateau fibre type array in their birthcoats would result in higher clean adult fleece weights that have coarser fibre diameter, with higher variability, and longer staple than those with saddle array. Within saddle array, selection of those with reduced SK% would develop into adult fleeces with higher clean fleece weight and those with reduced CT% would grow into adult fleeces with finer diameter.

Selection of lambs that have birthcoat ravine array in f, ⅜, ½, ⅝ and ¾ Merino would reduce the within-staple variability in their adult fleece fibre diameter.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 99 , Issue 1 , August 1982 , pp. 131 - 138
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

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References

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