A sample of feral Hokonui, Campbell Island and Raglan sheep were captured after living feral > 40 years and managed on North and South Island farms alongside domesticated breeds for 28 years to understand relative performance in various traits. Fleece weight was significantly different (P<0.001) between breeds (Hokonui, 1.48 kg; Campbell Island, 1.50 kg; and Raglan, 2.16kg), lower than both domesticated Saxon Merino (3.26kg) and Perendale (3.29kg) in the North Island. Live weight was significantly different (P<0.001) between flocks (Hokonui, 39.4 kg; Campbell Island, 38.6 kg; and Raglan, 43.0kg), but intermediate between Saxon Merino (35.5kg) and Perendale (51.6kg). Reproductive rate depended on live weight and was also intermediate between the domesticated breeds, being significantly greater in the South Island (P<0.001). Decreased fleece weight was common to farmed feral sheep from three different origins, suggesting this trait may have been an advantage during a feral existence.

Research has shown a technical description of a blend for most woollen carpet applications can be met with objective measurements, namely mean fibre diameter, fibre length after carding, wool bulk, proportion of medullation, base colour and vegetable matter content. The compressional property of wool as reflected in bulk is strongly related to mean fibre diameter and mean fibre curvature. Both these measurements can now be measured simultaneously with recently developed electronic instrumentation. While the processing implications of changes in mean fibre diameter are well understood, the processing implications of changes in objectively measured mean fibre curvature have not been investigated in detail. A total of 360 New Zealand Romcross type fleeces shorn from yearling sheep, with an individual range in mean fibre diameter of 23.2-40.6m and an individual range in mean fibre curvature of 34-115 degrees/mm were used. The individual fleeces were sorted to create five, similar-sized, wool-processing lines with the following specifications for mean fibre diameter and mean fibre curvature. Lot 1: low fibre diameter/high fibre curvature (30.2m, 72 degrees/mm); Lot 2: high fibre diameter/high fibre curvature (33.5m, 70 degrees/mm); Lot 3: medium fibre diameter/medium fibre curvature (32.1m, 64 degrees/mm); Lot 4: low fibre diameter/low fibre curvature (31.1m, 58 degrees/mm); and Lot 5: high fibre diameter/low fibre curvature (34.5m, 51 degrees/mm). Each processing lot was scoured, combed to reduce the proportion of short fibre within each lot and spun into yarn on the semi-worsted system. Mean spindle speed at break (50 fibres in cross-section) and yarn breaking load were greatest for Lot 4 and lowest for Lot 2. Increasing fibre diameter and increasing fibre curvature resulted in less unevenness within the yarn and a decrease in neps. Coarse highly crimped fibre produced the bulkiest yarn while the finer straighter fibre produced the lowest bulk yarn. Potential wearability of knitted garments using yarn spun from each processing lot was assessed using standard knitted squares. Increasing fibre diameter and increasing fibre curvature resulted in greater relaxation shrinkage in length, while decreasing fibre diameter and increasing fibre curvature resulted in increased extensibility in width. Overall resistance to felting shrinkage increased as crimp and diameter increased. There was no difference in pilling between the processing lots. The presented results indicate that increasing fibre curvature in Romcross type sheep as may occur through selection or crossbreeding associated with improving lamb production, will have a beneficial effect on the performance of products made from their wool.

A flock of New Zealand Wiltshire sheep was divided into two lines and selected for increased greasy fleece weight or decreased greasy fleece weight as yearlings. Wiltshires shed their fleece annually, and although these yearlings may have expressed shedding as lambs in the preceding summer, they were shorn in autumn at 5 months and again in spring at 12 months of age to determine fleece weight before the subsequent shedding. A rapid separation in fleece weight was observed within 8 years, with ewe (0.89 kg) and ram yearlings (0.92 kg) selected for increased fleece weight producing significantly more wool (P < 0.001) than ewe (0.43 kg) or ram yearlings (0.39 kg) from the line selected for decreased fleece weight. There was no significant difference between sexes, and the sex × line interaction was not significant. Clearly this was very low wool production, but fleece weight was heritable (h2 = 0.57 ± 0.04). Shedding was scored from 0 (not shed) to 5 (completely shed) for all animals (n = 2505 records) and was found to be heritable in December (h2 = 0.39 ± 0.04) and again in January (h2 = 0.52 ± 0.05), but less so in September at shearing (h2 = 0.24 ± 0.03). Fleece weight in spring was negatively correlated with shedding score in January, both phenotypically (–0.52 ± 0.02) and genetically (–0.81 ± 0.04). Selecting yearlings for low fleece weight developed a shedding sheep with negligible fleece, which may not require shearing. Selecting for shedding of lambs in January would likely achieve a similar outcome.

Data were available on the shedding ability of a New Zealand Wiltshire flock. 4123 shedding records collected annually in August/September, December and January from 844 different individuals were available. The repeatability of August/September shedding scores was low (0.20 ± 0.110), whereas the repeatability of December and January scores was moderate (0.47 ± 0.032 and 0.66 ± 0.025 respectively) and increased with the exclusion of lamb scores (to 0.55 ± 0.038 and 0.81 ± 0.019 respectively). These results indicate that scores recorded on lambs do not fully reflect their adult shedding potential and ultimate shedding within a season is not achieved until at least January. The heritability of January shedding score was 0.60 ± 0.089 when lamb scores were excluded. Given full expression does not occur until after selection of replacements would normally be carried out, and there is strong evidence for genetic control, shedding is an ideal trait for QTL studies and ultimately marker assisted selection.

Selection for wool bulk is normally undertaken in yearlings. In this study, a mixed-sex group of 170 GrowBulk sheep were wool sampled at 6 and 12 months of age. Measurements of fibre curvature and fibre diameter following degreasing a wool sample taken at 6 months of age with either water or solvent, explained 69% and 67% respectively of the variation in core bulk at 12 months of age. A combination of fibre curvature and fibre diameter measured following degreasing by either method was equally effective in predicting core bulk at 12 months of age. Precision of the predicted core bulk values was equivalent to direct core bulk measurement. Early-life prediction of core bulk from measurements of fibre curvature and fibre diameter taken close to the skin using consistent sample preparation methods, is a low-cost objective procedure to rank sheep for culling young sheep on wool bulk.

The pattern of wool fibre and follicle development was monitored for 20 Perendale lambs from lines selected for or against wool bulk. There was no significant difference in characteristics associated with wool bulk between selection lines at birth. These characteristics followed a curvilinear pattern of development with most of the change taking place between birth and 14 w eeks of age then reaching a plateau by 35 weeks. The different rate of developmental change for each bulk line meant that by 14 wee ks the high line had a greater follicle curvature grade, shorter follicle length, shallower follicle depth, more para-meso cortex and a higher fibre curvature. Together fibre curvature, fibre diameter and fibre diameter standard deviation explained around 70% of the variation in hogget wool bulk from 25 weeks of age. From these results it is suggested that the potential of a sheep to produce high bulk wool can be assessed using fibre curvature and fibre diameter from 6 months of age which allows hogget mating and/or early cull ing to be practised.

This paper reviews the biology of wool, mohair and cashmere growth and the options available to sheep and goat farmers to manipulate the quantity and characteristics of fibre produced to meet processors' requirements. The annual pattern of fibre growth in sheep and fibre producing goats is photodependent and regulated by hormone action. In sheep and Angora goats, fibre growth rate is greater in summer than winter with the amplitude varying between breeds. Cashmere-producing goats grow fibre between the longest and shortest day after which it is shed. The large diversity in fleece and fibre characteristics between genotypes of sheep and goats can be used to change characteristics by selection. Fibre characteristics of greatest importance to processors are all of medium to high heritability. Negative genetic correlations between some important characteristics limit overall genetic progress achievable through selection. The principal non-genetic factors affecting fleece and fibre characteristics in both sheep and goats are age, nutrition, physiological status, disease and shearing regime. Further work is required to gain a greater understanding of biological changes occurring within the follicle and fibre during growth to facilitate the production of fibre of specific characteristics through breeding or altering animal management.

Groups of 20 Romney, Coopworth, and Perendale wether lambs were slaughtered at either 10, 20, or 30 weeks of age. The 10-week groups were slaughtered woolly; the remainder were shorn at 10 weeks of age. After slaughter, the skins were evaluated for suitability for wool-on tannage, treated with depilatory, and processed into crust leather. All unshorn skins were unsuited for wool-on tannage. Perendale shorn skins were more suited to clothing use and Romney and Coopworth shorn skins to rug use. Coopworth skins, pelts, and leathers were larger and heavier than those of the Romney and Perendale. There were significant breed x age interactions for changes in pelt area during processing. Skins, pelts, and leathers increased in size, thickness, and weight with increasing age. Perendale and Romney leathers had more extensible grain layers. Coopworth leathers were less resistant to tearing after adjustment for thickness differences. There were no interactions between breed and age for any subjectively assessed leather characteristics. Romney leather had less neckiness and mottle but more cockle, Coopworth leather less double hiding, and Perendale leather more pinhole than the other breed groups. Mottle was least in the 20-week groups. Double hiding decreased and pinhole increased with increasing age. Keywords: sheep breedsRomneyPerendaleCoopworthageleather quality

Skins were compared from 2 groups of 18-month-old Cheviot, Drysdale, and Romney wethers reared under hill country conditions, and offered initial pasture allowances per animal after weaning of either 1.5 or 3.0 kg DM/day increasing progressively to 2.0 or 4.0 kg DM/day at slaughter. Cheviot skins were more suited to wool-on leather production, whereas Drysdale and Romney pelts were more suited to garment leather production. Cheviot leathers were more resistant to tearing, with a stronger more extensible grain layer, more pinhole, more mottle, and less double-hiding than the other breeds. Drysdale leathers had most cockle, and Romney leathers least pinhole. Improved feeding increased weight, area, and thickness of the leather, occurrence of mottle and neck, resistance to tearing, and the strength and extensibility of the grain layer.

Age-balanced breeding flocks of 40 ewes of the super-fine Merino (M) and Border Leicester (BL) breeds were set-stocked together on semi-improved native pasture for three years. The M ewes grew more wool and weaned more lambs of a lighter weight, while the BL ewes were heavier than the M ewes at all weighings. During the last year the BL ewes experienced an overall weight loss not shown by the M ewes, which was reflected in increased mortality. Mortality within the BL breed was high, 70% compared with 17.5% for the M. Pneumonia was the primary cause of death.

Ten 1-year-old sheep of each of the breeds were pen-fed a pelleted diet of 60:40 maize: lucerne at 30, 40, 50, 60, or 70 g/kg initial live weight0·75 /day for 21 weeks divided into 3 equal periods. Intake, wool growth, and body growth were considered relative to body weight0·75 to allow for the effect of between-breed differences in body size. Estimates of the conversion of dry matter (DM) intake/body weighto.75 to body weight gain/body weight0·75 did not differ between breeds or periods. On a pooled within-breed, within-period basis, wool growth/ body weight0·75 (r = 0.69) and fibre diameter (r = 0.69) were correlated with DM intake/body weight0·75. During the last 2 periods the sulphur content of the fleece was correlated within breeds (r = 0.62) with DM intake/body weighto0·75. Fibre diameter (r = 0.76) and sulphur content of the fleece (r = 0.62) were correlated with wool growth/body weight0·75. The regression coefficient for the regression of clean wool/body weight0·75 on DM intake/body weight0·75 did not differ between breeds but increased between periods as the seasonal wool growth maximum was approached. The intercepts were different between breeds and decreased between periods. The ranking of breeds for clean wool/ body weight0·75 at an intake of 40 g DM/body weight0·75 /day was Corriedale, Coopworth, Romney, and Perendale in the winter and spring and Coopworth, Corrieda1c, Romney, and Perendale in the early summer. The regression coefficients for the regression of both fibre diameter and sulphur content of the fleece on clean wool/body weighto.75 did not differ between breeds or periods. The intercepts, which differed between breeds, did not differ between periods.

Abstract Lifetime performance was studied in 57 Romney (R) and 86 Merino × Romney (MR) ewes bred from straightbred hill country Romney ewes with a wide variation in fleece type. The MR lambs had lower perinatal mortality than the R. Although weights were similar at weaning, MR ewe lambs had a lower growth rate than wethers from 4 to 14 months of age. This was confirmed by the average growth of contemporary MR wether lambs when grazed at a different location at three stocking rates from 5 to 15 months of age. As well as lower live weight the MR wethers had lighter carcasses. R and MR ewes were mated to Merino rams to produce four lamb crops. Each year MR ewes showed earlier oestrus (except in the hogget stage) than the R and averaged lower live weights at pre-mating, pre-lambing, and weaning. However, the breeds did not differ in reproductive performance (barrenness, multiple birth rate, lamb survival, and lambs weaned per ewe joined). Birth and weaning weights of lambs from R and MR ewes were similar. MR ...