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Effect of DL-methionine supplementation on fleece growth by Australian cashmere goats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

A. J. Ash
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia4067
B. W. Norton
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia4067

Extract

Australian feral goats have recently been found to produce commercially viable quantities of the luxury fibre cashmere (Smith, Clarke & Turner, 1973). Cashmere is the fine down produced by secondary follicles as an undercoat during winter. Fibre diameter ranges from 8 to 24 μm with a mean diameter of 16 μm. Unlike modern breeds of sheep such as the Merino which exhibit almost continuous wool growth, cashmere growth is distinctly seasonal with fibre growth commencing in summer (long daylength) and reaching a maximum length in early winter (short daylength) (McDonald, 1985). The cashmere is cast in spring with growth recommencing again in summer.

Type
Short Notes
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

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