Survey of the Animal Industry Iowa Western Community College

 Provide protection to the animal  Most fibers have little commercial value, wool and mohair are the exception  Hides from young lambs can be processed into lambskin coats  Hides with longer wool can be processed into ornamental rugs

 Fiber grows from the follicle  Cuticle holds the fiber together (outer layer of fiber)  Felting is the intermingling of wool, allows fibers to be woven into woolens  All hair and wool fibers are similar in structure

 Wool fibers have waves (kinks) called crimp  Kemp fibers reduce value of the fleece because they lack crimp  Mohair fibers have no crimp

 The amount of wool produced is a result of nutrition and breeding. ◦ Production reduced when less than 8% protein  Through breeding, wool can be increased by selecting breeding stock based on fleece weight, staple length, fineness  Producers should try to maximize all profits (meat and fiber production)

1. Sheer when dry 2. Inferior portions of the fleece should be sorted out. 3. Sack by wool grades 4. Reduce double clips 5. Properly fold and tie the fleece with twine. 6. Use lanolin based paint 7. Separate black faced sheep from other fleece 8. All tags, sweepings, and other clippings should be packed separately 9. Reduce twine fed to sheep 10. Avoid environmental stress 11. Avoid course fibers (kemp)

 Burry – wool that contains vegetable matter (grass seeds, prickly seeds)  Chaffy – wool that contains vegetable matter ( hay, straw)  Cotted – matted or entangled wool fibers  Dead – wool from non-slaughtered dead animals  Murrain – wool obtained from decomposed sheep

 Class is determined by staple length and the fineness determines the grade ◦ The American grade, spinning count system, micron diameter method (most accurate)  Classes of wool are: staple; French combing; and clothing  Fineness of wool depends on body region from which it was obtained

 Greasy wool – wool or fleece shorn each year from the sheep  Scoured wool – washing and rinsing of the wool to remove grease, dirt, impurities.  Australia, China, New Zealand lead the world in greasy wool production.  Wool growth depends on breed, Mohair grows 12 inches per year.

 Direct sale to warehouses through partnerships  Worldwide changes have allowed the selling of wool on objective measurements of quality.  Wool is typically purchased on a clean or scoured basis

 Fibers are used in making cloth and carpets  Cloth allows moisture absorption while maintaining warmth and is resistant to fire.  However, wool tends to shrink and cause people to itch.  WURLAN treatments help to prevent absorbing water or blending with other fibers