Nutritional Factors Involved in Wool Production by Merino Sheep I. The Influence of Fodder Intake on the Rate of Wool Growth

Abstract

The rate of wool growth (weight of wool produced per unit time), determined in seven sheep subjected to four levels of food intake, ncreased 400-600 per cent. from the lowest to the highest level of feeding and this change was reflected in both the mean length and in the mean diameter of the fibres, the relationship between these variables being characteristic of the individual sheep. The fibre diameter distribut!ons were also affected, the individual fibres responding up to the limit of their capacities in proportion to their cross-sectional areas.