DOCSLIB.ORG

Phenotypic and Genetic Parameters for Production Traits of Merino Sheep in Central Western Queensland

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Phenotypic and Genetic Parameters for Production Traits of Merino Sheep in Central Western Queensland Proc. Aust. Soc. Anim. Prod. 1996 Vol. 21 PHENOTYPIC AND GENETIC PARAMETERS FOR PRODUCTION TRAITS OF MERINO SHEEP IN CENTRAL WESTERN QUEENSLAND MARY ROSE and P.M. PEPPER Dept of Primary Industries, Animal Research Institute, Yeerongpilly, Qld 4105 SUMMARY The heritability of and the phenotypic and genetic correlations among production characters, greasy fleece weight (GFW), yield (YLD), clean fleece weight (CFW), fibre diameter (DIAM) and live weight at 15 months of age (LWT), were estimated in a flock of medium Peppin Merino sheep in central western Queensland. The effects of year of birth and birthtype were significant factors for all characters except yield while sex affected all characters. Most estimates. were in general agreement with the published range. Heritabilities for GFW, YLD, CFW, DIAM and LWT were respectively 0.26, 0.58, 0.33, 0.62 and 0.27 respectively. Keywords: Merino sheep, production characters, heritabilities, genetic correlations, phenotypic correlations INTRODUCTION Accurate estimates of genetic and phenotypic parameters for production characters are necessary for the design of efficient sheep breeding programmes as is a knowledge of the effects of environmental factors on these characters in the accurate selection of animals based on measurement. Mortimer (1987) provided a review of the published estimates of genetic parameters for wool production and quality traits with special reference to Australian Merino flocks and Robertson (1987) for hogget live weight. These reviews showed that most characters were moderately to highly heritable. In the environment of this study, Beattie (1962) reported offspring-dam regression estimates for medium Peppin sheep in north west Queensland based on mixed-age animals of both sexes and uncorrected data. The National Performance Recording Scheme for Merino and other wooled sheep breeding flocks (formerly WOOLPLAN), uses “accepted” values for the phenotypic and genetic parameters based on published values (Ponzoni 1988). There are few published values for flocks in Queensland so values derived in a flock in central western Queensland, where many of the state’s largest Merino studs are situated, are of interest. In this paper we report preliminary results from a flock at Longreach, central western Queensland, being recorded for studies into the selection of better acclimatised sheep for the area. The effects of year of birth, sex and birth type on fleece production and live weight at 15 months of age and estimates of genetic and phenotypic parameters for these characters are reported. MATERIALS AND METHODS Environment Studies were carried out at Rosebank Research Station, Longreach, in central western Queensland. The environment and levels of production in this area have been described by Moule (1954) and Smith (1964). Sheep The flock was of locally bred, mature age, medium Peppin ewes which were mated to rams bred in the area. The ewes were allocated randomly using stratification on age and live weight to 18 sire groups, each sire being mated to approximately 35 ewes. Sires were replaced each year so there were 54 sires mated over the 3 years, 1992-94. Ewes were run as a single mob except at joining and lambing when they were allotted to 18 individual paddocks for ease of management and data collection. Records Complete records of greasy fleece weight (GFW), percentage yield (YLD), clean fleece weight (CFW), average diameter (DIAM), and live weight (LWT) at 15 months were available for 1241 sheep, the progeny, born in 1992, 1993 and 1994, of 54 sires. There were 643 males and 598 females. There were 1045 born as singles, 192 animals born as twins and 4 born as triplets. Statistical analyses These data were analysed using the model: 170 Yroc. Aust. Sot. Anim. Prod. 1996 Vol. 21 where yijkhn = the individual measurement; m = population mean; Yri = year of birth; = the effect of sire nested within year; 2, = the effect of dam; GI = the effect of sex; Bin = the effect of the birthtype; eijklmn = the random error. Except for Sij and dk (which were treated as random), all other effects were treated as fixed. Analyses were carried out using the programme REML (Thompson 1977) as implemented by Genstat 5 Release 3 (1993). The significance of the fixed effects, year of birth, sex and birth type was tested using the Wald Statistic (Genstat 5 Release 3 1993). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Table 1. MeaIls for greasyfleece weight (GFW), yield (YLD), clean fleece weight (CFW, average diameter (DIAM) and live weight (LWT) of 15month medium Peppin Merino sheep Effects of environmental factors Table 1 shows the means for fleece characters and live weight for each of the environmental factors, year of birth, sex and birth type. Year of birth significantly affected all characters with the exception of yield. There were large differences between the best and worst years in most characters. All production characters, except yield, were greatest for the 1993 drop and least for the 1994 drop. Year of birth and year of measurement are confounded and differences in production reflect the season experienced in the year of measurement. With the exception of live weight and yield, year of birth had the major effect on the other characters. Sex was a significant factor in all characters. It was the dominant effect on live weight. Rams were heavier at 15 months and had heavier fleece weights and lower yields and diameters than ewes. Birth type was the least important environmental factor. However it had a significant effect on fleece weight and fibre diameter at 15 months. Sheep born as singles had heavier fleece weights but had slightly finer wool. This would support the use of data corrected for birth type to improve the accuracy of selection. Phenotypic and genetic parameters Table 2 shows the means and the genetic and phenotypic parameters for each of the production characters. 171 Proc. Aust. Sot. Anim. Prod. 1996 Vol. 21 Table 2. Phenotypic and genetic parameters (GE) for greasy fleece weight (GFW), yield (YLD), clean fleece weight (CFW), average diameter (DIAM) and live weight (LWT) of 15month medium Peppin Merino sheep Heritability estimates suggest all characters were moderately to highly heritable. The estimates for these production characters are within the range reported for other medium Peppin flocks (Beattie 1962; Mortimer 1987; Turner and Young 1969). Estimates of phenotypic correlations between wool characters are generally within the published range, except the correlation between GFW and YLD which is lower than those published for Peppin Merinos. The correlation between GFW and DIAM is at the high end of the range and between YLD and CFW at the lower end. The correlations between hogget LWT with both GFW and CFW are much higher than those reported by Robertson (1987). All estimates of genetic correlations were within the published range (Mortimer 1987). CONCLUSIONS Parameters are specific to the particular flock or population in which they are estimated, although for the important production characters in Merino sheep in Australia there appears to be general agreement with a published range. Obtaining further estimates from Merino flocks is, however, appropriate in confirming the use of “accepted” values in performance recording and when additional characters are introduced into sheep breeding programmes. The estimates of parameters for a flock in central western Queensland in this study are in general agreement with the “accepted” values in the National Performance Recording Scheme for Australian Merino sheep, although the estimates of heritability in this study are slightly lower than those currently used for LWT (0.40) and for GFW and CFW (0.35 and 0.40 respectively) and higher than that for fibre diameter (0.50). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is a pleasure to thank David Cobon, Quenton Scott and other staff who managed the sheep at Longreach; Quenton Scott, Joanne Bailey and Susan Peart who collected samples and weighed sheep and Annette Cotton who kept the database and collated the data. REFERENCES BEATTIE, A.W. (1962). Qd J. Agric. Sci. 19: 17-26. GENSTAT (1993). Genstat 5 Release 3 (Oxford Science Publications, Clarendon Press: Oxford). MORTIMER, S.I. (1987). ‘In “Merino Improvement Programs in Australia”, (Ed. B.J. McGuirk) pp. 159-73 (Australian Wool Corporation: Melbourne). MOULE, G.R. (1954). Aust. Vet. J. 30: 153-71. PONZONI, R.W. (1988) Wool Technol. Sheep Breed. 36: 70-5. ROBERTSON, D.E. (1987). In “Merino Improvement Programs in Australia”, (Ed. B.J. McGuirk) pp. 2 19-26 (Australian Wool Corporation: Melbourne). SMITH, I.D. (1964). Proc. Aust. Sot. Anim. Prod. 5: 100-6. THOMPSON, R. (1977). Biometrics 33: 485-95. TURNER, H.N. and YOUNG, S.S.Y. (1969). “Quantitative genetics in sheep breeding” (The Macmillan Company of Australia: Melbourne). 172.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 2010/11 Annual Report
    AUSTRALIAN WOOL INNOVATION LIMITED ANNUAL REPORT 2010/11 2 UP FRONT ABOUT AWI WHAT AWI DOES Established in 2001, AWI is a not-for-profit company owned by over 28,000 wool levy payers who have registered as AWI shareholders. AWI’S MISSION The company invests along the global supply chain for Australian wool – from woolgrowers through to retailers. AWI’s mission is to invest in research, development, marketing AWI’s vision is for it to be a significant contributor to a vibrant, and promotion in order to: stable and profitable wool industry providing the world with the best natural fibre. enhance the profitability, international competitiveness AWI’s goal is to help increase stable and sustained demand for and sustainability of the wool through investments in marketing, innovations and R&D – Australian wool industry; and from farm to fashion. increase demand and market HOW AWI IS FUNDED access for Australian wool. AWI investments are funded through a wool levy paid by woolgrowers (currently two per cent of the sale price received for their shorn greasy wool) and a matching contribution from the CONTENTS Australian Government for eligible R&D activities, capped at 0.5 per cent of the value of gross national value of wool production. UP FRONT The sale of Woolmark licences contributes a further source of 2 About AWI income for AWI, directly funding AWI’s global business development network. 4 Highlights of 2010/11 5 Financial summary Woolgrowers vote every three years on the percentage of wool 6 AWI Board of Directors proceeds they would like to invest in wool innovation, marketing, sales, off-farm R&D and on-farm R&D.
    [Show full text]
  • Contamination – Dark and Medullated Fibres and Vegetable Matter
    Lecture 4: Contamination – Dark and Medullated Fibres and Vegetable Matter Malcolm Fleet and Colin Langford Learning Objectives On completion of this lecture you should be able to: • discuss the relevance of dark and medullated fibre contamination in wool • document the main origins of dark and medullated fibres and the economic implications • justify practices implemented to prevent or control occurrences of dark and medullated fibres and the opportunities for improvement • document the causes of Vegetable Contamination (VM) • calculate how VM is measured • describe the effect of VM on wool processing • describe the economic importance of VM • list and describe the plant species causing VM problems • illustrate your understanding of the strategies which can be employed to reduce VM • plan management strategies in a sheep management system to reduce VM problems in wool. Key terms and concepts Dark and medullated fibres in wool, measurement and description, economic importance and occurrence, strategies to reduce, vegetable matter (VM), VM Types, Names of VM Types, VM Type categories, Economic importance, Wool processing and VM, Strategies to reduce VM, Sheep coats, Shearing, Grazing management. Introduction Australian wool is primarily of Merino origin (AWEX 2004a) and this together with sheep management and wool classing practices (AWEX 2004b) has assisted in generating a reputation for relative freedom from dark and medullated fibres (Satlo 1963; Cardellino 1978; Pattinson and Hanson 1993; Burbidge et al. 1991, 1993; Hansford and Swan 2005). Furthermore, this wool is primarily used for finer apparel end-uses that are more sensitive to objectionable fibres even when present in trace amounts. The type and level of objectionable fibre that can be tolerated will vary widely with the end-product application but a common threshold for dark fibre in Merino top is 100 per kg (Foulds et al.
    [Show full text]
  • AVBS4012 Lecture Notes
    AVBS4012 Lecture Notes Lecture 2 – History of the Australian Merino 1821 → 1823 First load of Saxons to Tasmania (wool contained little wax or grease and fleece lacked density) Lecture outcomes: 1834 → Wool became colony’s major export ahead of - Understand history of Merino whaling and sealing - Describe 3 main strains of Merina in Aus and 1869 → Introduction of American Vermont Merino to environments they’re best adapted local peppin (large size), more wrinkles and wax - Understand difference between wool, meat and purpose >1870 → Peppins introduced Lincolns and Southdowns sheep enterprises into gene pool Higher rainfall regions = higher production 1840’s – interbreeding between Saxons, Spanish and Coastal areas not ideal as humidity is not suitable for plenty of dumped non-descripts left when ships hit sheep. Adelaide (included cape sheep, Bengali sheep, English More impact fibre sheep wool is the more it. merinos and English long wool breeds (English 3 contaminants of sheep wool: mineral (dust), vegetable Leicester, Lincoln). matter and dust. → Higher proportion of impurities if wool fibres are less compact. Peppins of Wanganella Peppins first to recognise value of salt bush feed base. History Selection policy based on environment – major turning - First sheep around 9000 BC point in breeding philosophy. - Need for domestication was driven by colder climatic - created large, medium wool genotype to the Riverina conditions - Ewes exceeded 91kg. Body weight (BW) producing - From nomadic lifestyle (hunting and foraging) to 6.4kg fleece.
    [Show full text]
  • The Influence of Season and Nutrition on Oestrus and Ovulation in South
    1. go .Yo THE TNËLUENCE OT' SEASON AND NUTRITION zt'l ON OESTRUS AND OVULATION IN SOUTH ATJSTRALIAÀI STRONG-I^]OOL MERINO EW]TS by Ian N. Cutten B.Ag.Sc. (AdeI) A thesis submitted to The University of Adelaide. ir¡ fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Agricultural Science Department of Animal PhYsiologY V'Iaite Agricultural Research Instit-uüe University of Adelaide August 1979 t) ì I'c l_ TARI,E OF CONTEIII'S Pag:r= Title page Taj¡le of conte¡rts I Summary l_l_ l_ Declaration x Acknowledgements )(I T. INTRODUCTION l_ ïï. LITERATURE REVTEW I A. The effect of season, the presence of rams, I nutritj-onal- status and bod,y si.ze on the occurrence of oestrus in ewes I. fntroduction I 2. Oestrus and season 9 (a) Introduction 9 (b) Daylength l-Q (c) Tnherent rhythm IJ (i) continuous and l,ong-day light 1¿l (ii) Equaroriat tiçIhr L4 (iii) Short-day lig-hr 1.6 (d) Temperature 18 (e) Atmospheric pressure 19 3. Oestrus and the presence of rams 19 (a) Length of the breeding season 19 (i) Continuously associated r'¡ith ralns 20 (ii.) Suddenly associated with rams 2! (iii) SeParat-ed f::om rams 2T (b) Synchronisation of oest'rus 2L (c) Nat-ure of synchronisation effect 23 4. Oest-.rus and nutritiona_t staCus 25 5. Oestrus and bod.y size 28 6. Oestrus among Koonoona s train Merj-no ewes .l0 rl- Page B.Theeffectofnutrj.tionalstatus'seasonandbody 31 size on ovulation in ewes I. Introducti-on 3I 2.
    [Show full text]
  • 3. Fibre Diameter, Staple Strength, Style, Handle and Curvature
    3. Fibre Diameter, Staple Strength, Style, Handle and Curvature Tony Schlink Learning Objectives On completion of this topic you should be able to: • demonstrate an understanding of fibre diameter and the economic importance of fibre diameter • explain and calculate the difference between the standard deviation of diameter and the coefficient of variation of diameter • define the relationship between mean diameter, diameter variation and “coarse edge” or “prickle” • measure staple strength and describe its economic importance • explain the sources of variation in staple strength within a mob of sheep • describe localised vs generalised fibre weakness as determinants of staple strength • define and quantify the relationship between staple strength and each of minimum diameter, along-staple diameter variation, rate of change in diameter, fibre length variation and intrinsic fibre strength • relate raw wool style including the main component traits to economic importance • explain the influence of fibre diameter and fibre crimp on wool handle • describe fibre curvature and the value of curvature Key terms and concepts Fibre diameter; coefficient of variation of fibre diameter; prickle and coarse edge; micron blowout; staple strength; variation in staple strength; determinants of staple strength; style; handle; curvature. Introduction to the topic This topic will discuss the economic importance of and sources of variation in fibre diameter, staple strength, style; handle and curvature. WOOL412/513 Sheep Production - 3 - 1 ©2009 The Australian Wool Education Trust licensee for educational activities University of New England 3.1 Fibre diameter Diameter is defined as the length of a straight line through the centre of a circle or sphere and wool fibres are assumed to be circular.
    [Show full text]
  • Merino 1 Merino
    Merino 1 Merino For other uses, see Merino (disambiguation). The Merino is an economically influential breed of sheep prized for its wool. The breed is originally from TurkeyWikipedia:Verifiability and central Spain (Castille), and its wool was highly valued already in the Middle Ages. Today, Merinos are still regarded as having some of the finest and softest wool of any sheep. Poll Merinos have no horns (or very small stubs, known as scurs), and horned Merino rams have long, spiral horns which grow close to the head. Etymology Full wool Merino sheep. Two suggested origins for the Spanish word merino are: • It may be an adaptation to the sheep of the name of a Leonese official inspector (merino) over a merindad, who may have also inspected sheep pastures. This word is from the medieval Latin maiorinus, a steward or head official of a village, from maior, meaning "greater". • It also may be from the name of a Berber tribe, the Marini (or in Castilian, Benimerines), which intervened in the Iberian peninsula during the 12th and 13th centuries. Characteristics The Merino is an excellent forager and very adaptable. It is bred predominantly for its wool, and its carcass size is generally smaller than that of sheep bred for meat. South African Meat Merino (SAMM), American Rambouillet and German Merinofleischschaf have been bred to balance wool production and carcass quality. Merino wool is finely crimped and soft. Staples are commonly 65–100 mm (2.6–3.9 in) long. A Saxon Merino produces 3–6 kg (6.6–13.2 lb) of greasy wool a year, while a good quality Peppin Merino ram produces up to 18 kg (40 lb).
    [Show full text]
  • On the Sheep's Back
    On the sheep’s back Jaye Charlton, Sophie Bashford, Sophie Willis and Sam Hughes Deniliquin North Public School Creative Catchment Kids Creative Catchment Kids is an initiative of Wirraminna Environmental Education Centre. It aims to improve engagement between our funding partners and school students by providing opportunities for positive and authentic ventures that encourage students to develop creative solutions to agriculture and natural resource management issues. www.wirraminna.org/creative-catchment-kids/ Wirraminna Environmental Education Centre The Wirraminna Environmental Education Centre is located in Burrumbuttock, north of Albury in southern NSW. Since 1995, the centre, which is adjacent to Burrumbuttock Public School, has provided opportunities for discovery and learning about the natural environment, the ecology of the local woodlands and the beauty of native plants. www.wirraminna.org Enviro-Storie s Enviro-Stories is an innovative literacy education program that inspires learning about natural resource and catchment management issues. Developed by PeeKdesigns, this program provides students with an opportunity to publish their own stories that have been written for other kids to support learning about their local area. www.envirostories.com.au On the sheep’s back Authors: Jaye Charlton, Sophie Bashford, Sophie Willis and Sam Hughes Teacher: Miss Cynthia Smith School: Deniliquin North Public School Acknowledgement We would like to thank Jane Frazer for her wealth of knowledge about the Peppins, as well as her contribution of photos. Our Community In 2016, students involved in the Creative Catchment Kids program researched and wrote stories about their local community and how local individuals, couples, businesses or industries have made a difference.
    [Show full text]
  • The Comparative Production Performance of South Australian and Peppin Merino Ewes
    THE COMPARATIVE PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE OF SOUTH AUSTRALIAN AND PEPPIN MERINO EWES By R. B. DUN *, and L.T. HAYWARD-~ Summary A comparison has been made of fleece production of South Australian and two flocks of Peppin Merino ewes. The 3 strains differed significantly in most fleece and body measurements, the most important differences being as follows: (i) The South Australian ewes led clearly on wool production, averaging 9 l 61 lb clean wool per head as against 9 l 29 lb for Stud Peppin and 7 025 lb for Random Peppin. (ii) There was little difference in body size between the three flocks. (iii) The marked superiority of the South Australian over Random Peppin in clean fleece weight was principally due to increased fibre diameter, although staple length was important. (iv) The financial return per head from wool favoured the South Australian ewes by 15 shillings per head, relative to Random Peppin. I. INTRODUCTION During the last ten years, pastoralists in Western New South Wales have shown increasing interest in the South Australian Merino. The obvious causes of this trend are: (i) The marked reduction in the price margin between fine, medium, and strong Merino wools. (ii) A growing appreciation of the superior wool production of the South Australian strain (Weston 1959; Dunlop et al 1960; Dunlop, private communica- tion, 1961). South Australian sheep were introduced to Trangie Research Station in 1960, anticipating our need for information on their performance relative to Peppin Merinos. This paper presents some early results comparing the productive performance of the two strains. II. THE SHEEP South Australian.
    [Show full text]
  • Towards a Non-Mulesed Future
    Towards a Non-Mulesed Future Selective Breeding to Counteract Flystrike in Australian Merino Sheep BG ECONOMICS TOWARDS A NON-MULESED FUTURE i BG Economics Level 5, Toowong Tower 9 Sherwood Road Toowong Qld 4066 PO Box 1343 Toowong DC 4066 Tel: Email: [email protected] Web: bgeconomics.com.au © BG Economics July 2020 ABN: 55 608 202 277 Disclaimer This report has been prepared for the purposes of providing the results of a survey and case studies and does not contain an extensive literature review or in-depth analysis. The report does not examine every possible scenario and is not to be considered in any way as providing financial or technical advice. All photographs and images have been supplied with permission except where specifically credited. BG Economics accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage suffered howsoever arising to any person or Corporation who may use or rely on this report in contravention of the terms of this clause. TOWARDS A NON-MULESED FUTURE ii Foreword BG Economics is a socioeconomic consulting firm in Brisbane, Australia. We are engaged by not-for-profit organisations, for-profit organisations and government to undertake economic analyses on a wide range of socially based issues and projects including employment, drugs and alcohol, housing and animal welfare. Animal welfare has become increasingly important to consumers in recent decades and is often a major factor in their purchasing decisions of products and services. Industries and businesses that do not recognise this, or are slow to respond to changes in consumer demand, risk consumers making alternative purchasing choices where there is a substitute product.
    [Show full text]
  • Falkiner Merino Empire Next in Rush to Sell Farm the AUSTRALIAN Falkiner Merino Empire Next in Rush to Sell Farm
    3/8/2017 Falkiner Merino empire next in rush to sell farm THE AUSTRALIAN Falkiner Merino empire next in rush to sell farm SUE NEALES THE AUSTRALIAN 12:00AM March 6, 2017 The historic birthplace of the modern merino sheep and Australia’s golden era of wool prosperity is for sale, with the legendary Wanganella, Peppin ella and Boonoke sheep stations in southern NSW being touted to overseas buyers as part of a potential $330 million deal. A Riverina pastoral empire known since the 1880s as the FSF Falkiner group has been quietly put on the market by its five owners, as part of the much larger Australia Food & Agriculture com pany’s agricultural portfolio. The AFA sale of its 18 properties in southern NSW was confirmed yesterday to The Australian by part­owner and stockbroker Colin Bell. The $330m asking price — for a portfolio of 18 farms covering 226,000ha clustered around ­ Deniliquin, Hay and Coonamble — compares with $380m paid for the Kidman cattle empire of 10 million hectares, which sold last year to an Australian­ Chinese joint venture led by mining magnate Gina Rinehart. Overseas buyers are already circling the highly productive rural group, which includes the merino wool properties of Boonoke, Wanganella, Peppinella, Zara and Baratta — from where 80 per cent of all modern merinos can be traced — and 13,000 merino stud sheep. Mr Bell said Chinese companies were among prospective buyers looking at major Australian agricultural assets. Shanghai Pengxin — which was twice blocked by the federal government from buying the vast Kidman holding as a majority owner — is considered a possible bidder for Australia Food and Agriculture, although it recently splashed out $US290m for one of Brazil’s largest agricultural businesses.
    [Show full text]
  • Optimising Genetic Potential for Wool Production and Quality Through
    AFBM Journal volume 2 – number 1 © Copyright AFBMNetwork Optimising genetic potential for wool production and quality through maternal nutrition Sue Hatcher and PR Johnson NSW Department of Primary Industries, Orange Agricultural Institute Forest Rd, Orange NSW 2800 Australia [email protected] Contents Introduction Genetic potential – can we maximise it? The follicle group – initiation and maturation • Primary follicles • Secondary follicles • S/P ratio Maternal effects and the follicle population • Breed differences • Timing of the nutritional stress Follicles and the fleece characteristics Matching the breed cycle to feed availability on the farm Implications for commercial wool producers Lifetime Wool – optimising wool production and quality Conclusion References Appendix Abstract. This paper reviews the development of the wool follicle population with a view to the management of breeding ewes so as to optimise the genetic potential of the progeny for wool production and quality throughout their lifetime. It highlights the importance of the pre-weaning environment (i.e. maternal nutrition through pregnancy and lactation) on the initiation and maturation of the secondary follicle population and identifies the last third of pregnancy as the most critical period. The implications of this for the commercial wool producer are discussed in terms of matching the breeding cycle of the ewes to available pasture and provision of supplementary feed. Finally, it introduces a national project 'Lifetime Wool' funded by Australian Wool
    [Show full text]
  • This Is the Accepted Manuscript. Available from Deakin
    Ferguson, M. B., McGregor, B. A. and Behrendt, R. 2012, Relationships between skin follicle characteristics and fibre properties of Suri and Huacaya alpacas and Peppin Merino sheep, Animal production science, vol. 52, no. 7, pp. 442-447. DOI: 10.1071/AN11233 This is the accepted manuscript. ©2012, CSIRO Publishing Reproduced by Deakin University with the kind permission of the copyright owner. Available from Deakin Research Online: http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30049702 1 1 2 3 4 5 Relationships between skin follicle characteristics and fibre properties of Suri and Huacaya alpacas and 6 Peppin Merino sheep 7 8 9 10 M.B. FergusonA, B.A. McGregorB,D,Eand R. BehrendtCD 11 12 A Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, South Perth, W.A., 6151, Australia 13 B Centre for Material and Fibre Innovation, Deakin University, Geelong, Vic., 3220, Australia 14 C Livestock Production Sciences, Future Farming Systems Research Division, Department of Primary 15 Industries, Hamilton, Vic., 3300, Australia 16 D Formerly Wool Quality Department, Department of Primary Industries, Attwood, Vic., 3030, 17 Australia 18 E Corresponding author E-mail address: [email protected] 19 20 Short title: Follicle and fibre properties of alpacas and sheep 21 22 23 2 24 Abstract. 25 We aimed to quantify the number, type and arrangement of skin follicles in Huacaya and Suri alpaca 26 skin and correlate their follicle characteristics with fibre traits of harvested fibre and compared these 27 relationships with those of Merino sheep. Fibre and skin samples were collected from the mid-side of 12 28 Huacaya alpacas, 24 Suri alpacas and 10 Merino sheep.
    [Show full text]