My understanding of genetics is that in pure breeds you can select for fleece type, but in crossbreeds you can't reliably predict what fleece characteristics you will get.
Critter to critter will be different and you may even see weird differences on a single animal! Fine wool, crimpy, short wool in one spot and completely different crimp, long waves, variable fineness and length in another area. You can even get some of those differences using pure breeds, though to a lesser extent. A local breeder had a super covered purebred fleece last year, but the judge noted (rightly so) that there was about 3-4 inches around the britch that was significantly coarser and longer crimp than the whole rest of the fleece. It would have been a top finisher except for better skirting. The caveat is that if you bought this sheep or his progeny, based on a show fleece with good skirting, you might not have known about the coarser section, that genetics might pass on. Best to visit the farm before shearing or buy in full fleece if your major plan is wool based. Barbara C - eastern Mass. To stop mail temporarily mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: set nomail To restore send: set mail
