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Effect of Pregnancy and Early Lactation on Wool and Mohair Production

Texas Agricultural Experiment Station

Abstract

There are two lines of thinking in regard to the effect of pregnancy on the prospective mother. One is that the needs of the fetus divert the available nutriments from the mother, to her detriment. In the instance of the sheep, this would probably be reflected in lighter body weight, shorter staple, less grease in the wool, a smaller yield of wool, and possibly finer fiber. The other view would postulate that these effects would only be seen in cases of starvation or semi-starvation. The correct answer would have considerable practical as well as theoretical value.

In an attempt to answer this question, we have studied the fleece and body weight records of the two-year-old registered Rambouillet ewes raised at the Ranch Experiment Station over a 13-year period. These ewes were sheared once per year about May 1. Lambing has averaged about two months earlier than shearing. As a consequence, these results include part of the effect of lactation. Diameter measurements of fibers were made, micrometer calipers graduated to one-ten thousandth of an inch, at a point approximately one-third the distance from the base to the tip end of the fiber. The animals were divided into two groups, fertile and sterile, and the records of each group analyzed separately.