Fleece characteristics and postnatal fleece development in Finnish Landrace × Merino sheep

Abstract

SUMMARY1. Fleece characteristics in Finnish Landrace × Merino and Merino × Finnish Landrace sheep were compared with those of the parental breeds, and although most characters in the crossbreds showed no significant departure from the parental mean, they had similarities to the Merino which imparted commercial value.2. The wool was mostly of 60s quality compared with 58s in the Finnish Landrace, and 64s and over in the Merino parents. Crimp number showed heterosis, being 5 to 6 per cm in the crossbreds compared with 2 in the Finnish sheep and 7 in the Merino.3. The mean fleece weight was 3-5 kg, compared with 2-2 kg in the Finnish sheep and 4-2 kg in the Merino.4. The mean staple length was 13 cm compared with a very variable length around a mean of 16 cm in the Finnish Landrace, and 10 cm in the Merino.5. The fibre diameter was nearer to that of the Merino, but not significantly so (primary mean 29·2 μ, secondary mean 26·6 μ).6. The greater fleece weight of the crossbreds would be expected to be associated with a greater skin follicle density, but they had a secondary/primary follicle ratio of about 10 (compared with 5 in the Finnish Landrace and 20 in the Merino), which did not differ significantly from the parental mean.7. There was some evidence that fibre development was initially more rapid in the crossbred lambs.

Genetic parameters for wool traits in Finnsheep lambs

“…Gjedrem (1969) found the male lambs to have finer wool but in adult sheep the difference between sexes was reversed. Ryder and Wilson (1972) found also coarser fibres in the females in Finnsheep x Merino crosses. Sumner and Bigham (1993) reported slightly greater FD in rams with the difference between the sexes increasing with age.…”

The effects of breed, crossbreeding and other factors on variation in fleece and skin traits

“…Genetic correlations quoted by Brown and Turner (1968) for Merino sheep show a high negative correlation between density and diameter. Ryder and Wilson (1972) who reported on crosses of the Finnish Landrace with the Tasmanian Merino, and McGuirk et al (1978) who studied crosses of Border Leicester and Australian Merino, found little evidence of heterosis in the corresponding components of fleece and skin. Rae (1958), however, reports what may amount to a stronger correlation of fleece weight with diameter than with staple length, the diameter-related measure in this case being quality number (a visual assessment of fineness).…”

“…Among the wool-producing breeds a major difference occurs between the Merino types and the rest (see, for example, Carter and Clarke, 1957a and b), but even within each of these types there is great variability in fineness of wool, length of staple, and fleece weight (Ryder and Stephenson, 1968). There is little published information on the subject of ieterosis but some studies have reported this (see Ryder and Wilson, 1972;McGuirk, Bourke and Manwaring, 1978). There is little published information on the subject of ieterosis but some studies have reported this (see Ryder and Wilson, 1972;McGuirk, Bourke and Manwaring, 1978).…”

Coat colour inheritance in Soay, Orkney and Shetland sheep

“…Adalsteinsson's hypothesis is, however, likely to apply to all Scandinavian sheep, and so the appearance of black lambs in pure Finnish Landrace and Finnish Landrace h Merino sheep (Ryder & Wilson, 1972) is of interest because no black animals have been observed in the ABRO Merino flock. Assuming that the Finnish Landrace has the B, gene this implies that the (almost invariably white) Merino also carries the B, or B, gene, which is normally suppressed.…”