The use of thyroxine to reduce average fibre diameter in fleece wool when feed intake is increased

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to determine whether thyroxine injections would control the increases in fibre diameter when the wool growth of Merino wethers is stimulated by an increased supply of feed. Fifty-seven sheep were allocated to 1 of 5 levels of daily intake, ranging from 0.75 maintenance to ad libitum, and injected every third day with 3 mg of L-thyroxine or a saline solution (control). Sheep treated with thyroxine had elevated plasma tri-iodothyronine (T₃) levels, which were highest in sheep fed the least (P<0.01). Ad libitum intakes of sheep treated with thyroxine tended to be higher than that of control sheep, particularly in the fifth to seventh weeks of the experiment, and liveweight gain over the initial 4 weeks was significantly (P<0.001) less.

Wool growth was increased by thyroxine treatment, although the difference was small in the second half of the experiment at the highest intake levels. Fibre diameter of sheep treated with thyroxine was greater at low intakes, although the difference diminished as intake increased. Fibre length in the second half of the experiment was positively related to intake, but there were no effects of thyroxine. Although the relationships of fibre diameter and length with wool growth did not differ between the treatment groups, length accounted for more of the variation in wool growth in the second half of the experiment in treated wethers than in control wethers (0.376 v. 0.182 of the variation, respectively). Thyroxine did not appreciably reduce the extent of the increase in fibre diameter associated with an increase in the availability and intake of feed.