this research was conducted to compare fiber and follicle characteristics of chios, arkhamerino×moghani, and suffolk×moghani sheep. forty non-lactating ewes (16 heads of chios, 12 head arkhamerino×moghani, and 12 heads of suffolk×moghani) at the age of 22 months were randomly selected and kept for a period of 50 days. at the end of the experimental period, 50 grams of wool was collected from le...

This paper reports a benefit-cost analysis of the value of mulesing to Australian sheep producers. It was estimated that the average Australian sheep producer receives a benefit of approximately $1.84 per sheep each year from mulesing their lambs. If flocks did not routinely mules their lambs, it was predicted that they would need a significant increase in on-farm labour. The high cost of this ...

Tartrazine was examined as a possible replacement marker for rhodamine B in the Livestock Protection Collar. Test solutions were formulated in six combinations; tartrazine at 0.5% and 1.07. concentrations, with and without compound 1080, and with and without nigrosin black. Each solution was examined for persistence of color in the laboratory and when applied to the wool of dried sheep hide. Hi...

Historically, sheep have been selectively bred for desirable traits including wool characteristics. However, recent moves towards extensive farming and reduced farm labour have seen a renewed interest in Easycare breeds. The aim of this study was to quantify the underlying genetic architecture of wool shedding in an Easycare flock. Wool shedding scores were collected from 565 pedigreed commerci...

Genetic and phenotypic parameters were estimated for dagginess, breech, wool, and fiber traits from approximately 29,500 progeny born in 2009 and 2010 in New Zealand dual-purpose ram breeding sheep flocks. Dagginess is adherence of fecal matter to the wool, and this study investigates the genetic and phenotypic correlations between dagginess and breech and wool traits. Estimates for heritabilit...

Sheep is an important livestock in the world for meat, dairy and wool production. The third version of sheep reference genome has been recently assembled, but sheep DNA methylome has not been profiled yet. In this study, we report the comprehensive sheep methylome with 94.38% cytosine coverage at single base resolution by sequencing DNA samples from Longissimus dorsi of dizygotic Sunit sheep, w...

The migration of cells in wool follicles was studied by autoradiography of skin biopsies taken at half-day intervals from 2 to 5 days after intradermal injections of tritiated thymidine in 8 Corriedale sheep on different planes of nutrition. Cell migration rates were not the same in all follicles. Therefore, the shortest and longest times for cells to migrate to defined levels in the follicles ...

The study pertains to the carcass traits of thirty yearling Sahabadi ewes that were raised under the semi intensive conditions by farmers in Bardhamman district of West Bengal. Sahabadi is one of the least studied sheep and owes its origin to Sahabad district of Bihar. The sheep bears coarse wool and is leggy. The results indicate that the dressing percentage of the ewes were low (39%). The wei...

New methodology for measuring forage condensed tannin (CT) content is described and the effects of CT upon forage feeding and nutritive value for ruminant animals are reviewed. CT react with forage proteins in a pH-reversible manner, with reactivity determined by the concentration, structure and molecular mass of the CT. Increasing concentrations of CT in Lotus corniculatus and Lotus pedunculat...

The effect of an ovine growth hormone transgene on body growth and wool production to 12 mo of age of Merino sheep at pasture was investigated. There was no effect of the transgene on growth to 3 mo of age. From 7 mo onwards, animals heterozygous for the transgene began to grow faster and were significantly heavier than those without the transgene. The pattern of growth response was the same fo...