on 12/1/01 4:46 am, Dee Dee Williams at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> And there's a breeder that claims all fleeces have wool break,
> that's it natural, that nothing can be done about it, and that it just
> happens. <scratching head> Can this be true?
Hi
We see a wool break as 'the rise' in the fleeces of all our ewes ... and
around here we are taught always to wait for the rise and clip in the rise.
Her I am talking of a near break which spreads all over the sheep. Breeds we
handle include Texel, Scottish Blackface, Blue Headed Leicester, Herdwick,
Beltex, Blue de Maine and Charolais (to name a few...<ggg>) as well as many
of the 'northernshort tailed group'
This is normally caused by lambing when the ewe puts her all in to the lamb
before birth.
We see this also on many unbred females and the ram too ... but here two
things seem to be at work.
First many breeds still have a natural tendency to shed wool each year ...
but not breeds like Merino which have continuous fiber growth and can be
clipped when the fiber is at the required length.
Second cause is stress ... around here this comes from changes in weather
and feed value .. or illness and some defficiencies.
Robin
--
Robin and Margaret McEwen-King, Scotland.
sheep fleeces shows and pigs too...
http://www.mcewen-king.co.uk
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