Fleece growth in Australian cashmere goats. II. The effect of pregnancy and lactation

Abstract

Groups of Australian cashmere does were randomly assigned to December, March, July and September kidding groups in two successive years, and cashmere and hair growth was compared to does not kidding in each year. There was no significant (P > 0.05) effect of kidding time on cashmere growth rate. Kidding in December significantly (P < 0.05) delayed initiation of cashmere growth by around 2 weeks and occurred around February. Half of the does kidding in March failed to grow cashmere, and of the others, initiation date or rate of growth was not affected. Kidding in July advanced the cessation of cashmere growth to May compared with July in control does. Does kidding in September had cashmere growth cycles similar to those of control goats; however, fleece regrowth following shearing in June was significantly (P < 0.05) less. There were no consistent effects of kidding time on hair growth, but regrowth was significantly (P < 0.05) greater in the March kidding group following shearing in June.