• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.305-312
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• 1990

The seasonal changes in production, the systems of management and the seasonal climatic and feeding conditions are described for three farms representative of the major areas for growing fine-wool sheep in northern China. At all farms, summer and autumn were seasons of rapid liveweight gain and wool growth. In the winter and spring, during lactation, liveweight declined wool growth decreased by approximately 70%, and fibre diameter by 4 to 8 microns. The wool produced was characterized by a very low clean wool yield (39-51%). Greasy fleece weights ranged from 4.5 to 8.0 kg and average diameter of wool fibres from 20.5 to 23 microns. The number of lambs born per 100 ewes mated ranged from 79 to 95, lamb weights ranged from 3.8 to 4.5 kg, and weaning weights ranged from 17 to 25 kg. Overall, the patterns of sheep production were similar to those found in seasonally arid environments (such as in the mediterranean climatic zone). Yield of clean wool and therefore clean fleece weights were far below those in most other fine-wool producing areas of the world.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.7
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• pp.1075-1079
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• 1999

Adult German cross $(German{\times}British{\times}Russian)$ angora rabbits (one year age), 32 in number were divided randomly into four groups $(T_1-T_4)$ with equal sex ratio and fed diets containing $T_1$ groundnut cake (GNC); $T_3$, soyaflakes (SF); $T_4$, sunflower cake (SFC) and $T_2$, a mixture of all the three cakes along with green forage as roughage for a period of 9 months. Nine per cent protein was added from each protein source. Fibre level was maintained by adjusting the level of rice phak in the diets. The diets were iso-nitrogenous and contained similar level of fibre. DMI through roughage was not affected due to source of protein in the diet, however, DMI through concentrate was higher $(p{\leq}0.05)$ with SFC diet, which resulted in higher total feed intake in the group $(T_4)$. Body weights increased up to second shearing, thereafter it decreased due to summer depression. Diet containing soyaflakes sustained higher wool yield whereas, it was lowest $(p{\leq}0.05)$ on SFC diet. Wool attributes (staple length, medullation, fibre diameter) were not affected due to source of protein in the diet. Digestibility of fibre and its fractions (ADF, cellulose, hemicellulose) decreased $(p{\leq}0.05)$ with incorporation of SFC in the diets. Balance of calcium was lowest whereas, that of nitrogen was highest with SFC diet $(T_4)$. Biological value of N and net protein utilization was better when different protein sources were mixed together $(T_2)$. Protein quality of soyaflakes proved better for wool production followed by groundnut cake and mixture of three protein sources. Sunflower cake alone or in combination decreased wool production which may be checked by supplementation of amino acids and energy.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.15-27
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• 1999

Matting made of wools has a history which gose back even before B.C.7000, the time which is believed to be the starting point of the fabrication, production and usage of wools by the nomads in the Western and Central Asia who had made the living by breeding sheeps. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the function of wool matting in Asia. The research period limited to 9C A.D. When classified by the method of production of wool matting, the pile method and felt method have been widely used by the nomads in Western Asia and the cattle breeding nomads in Central Asia consecutively. From ancient times, wool matting has been considered to be one of the necessities by the nomads for living in the wilderness, and even at present, continued to be used by the people both for the purpose of everyday use and decoration. Other than fore-mentioned purposes, wool matting have function that is expressed the incantation, authorization and hierarchy, emotion and desire, and cultural exchange between nations. In addition, wool matting had also been used as a mark to show ownership and for military purposes. Even a simple wool matting had a different symbolism and function by different region and people throughout Asia. However, by finding and studying further abut what wool matting had symbolized and how it had been used, the tradition and history of wool matting could continue to attract the interests which will make the tradition to continue. And also, in order for the tradition to continue, the utmost efforts to innovate and produce better quality and design wool matting to fulfil the needs of modern times are truly required.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.416-420
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• 2009

An experiment of one-year duration was conducted on sixteen adult male German Angora rabbits under sub-temperate Himalayan conditions, to assess the effect of seasons on their body weight, wool production and quality, plane of nutrition and the digestibilities of nutrients. The daily meteorological attribute viz. minimum and maximum temperature; relative humidity and rainfall were recorded during winter (October to March), summer (April to June) and rainy (July to September) seasons. Biological parameters viz. body weight at the time of shearing, wool yield of individual rabbit, quality attributes of wool, fortnightly dry matter intake, chemical composition of feed and fodder and digestibilities of nutrients were recorded. Average minimum and maximum ambient temperature during winter, summer and rainy seasons were 4.6${\pm}$1.9 and 21.4${\pm}$2.8; 13.6${\pm}$2 and 30.3${\pm}$2; and 20.0${\pm}$1.4 and $31.0{\pm}1.8^{\circ}C$, respectively. The average relative humidity and total rainfall during winter, summer and rainy season were 69.5${\pm}$2.9% and 74.7${\pm}$21.8 mm; 58.6${\pm}$2.2% and 38.1${\pm}$18.1 mm; and 69${\pm}$4.2% and 104.0${\pm}$43.7 mm, respectively. The body weight of rabbits increased during all seasons, however, the maximum average daily weight gain of 3.47${\pm}$0.1 g was observed during the rainy season. The wool yield differed significantly (p$\leq$0.05) among different seasons with highest (140.4${\pm}$10 g) and lowest (108.5${\pm}$6.9 g) during winter and summer, respectively. The wool yield during the rainy season was 123.3${\pm}$5.2 g. The wool quality attributes revealed non-significant differences for staple length, fiber diameter, medulation percent, percent pure fibers and percent guard hairs. Plane of nutrition revealed significant (p$\leq$0.05) differences for concentrate intake. The concentrate intake was highest during winter (124.4${\pm}$2.6 g) followed by summer (86.8${\pm}$8.9 g) and rainy (80.7${\pm}$11.8 g) seasons. The reverse trend was observed in roughage intake with significantly (p${\leq}$0.05) lower intake during winter and highest during summer months. As a result total dry matter intake during different seasons was similar. Significant differences (p${\leq}$0.05) were observed for digestibilities of crude protein, crude fiber, ether extract, acid detergent fiber and cellulose. Digestibility of crude protein was highest during winter whereas the digestibilities of crude fiber, ether extract, acid detergent fiber and cellulose remained higher during the rainy season. During the winter season, the dry matter used for producing 100 g of wool was substantially lower than during other seasons and was concluded to be the best season for production of Angora wool under subtemperate Himalayan conditions.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.507-514
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• 2001

Two experiments were carried out to investigate whether duckweed is useful as a dietary protein source for fine-wool Merino sheep and to evaluate its effects on wool yield and characteristics. In Experiment 1, the sheep were given one of three maintenance diets consisting of oaten chaff (520-700 g/d) supplemented with 16-32 g crude protein/d in the form of fresh (1 kg/d) or sun-dried (50-100 g/d) duckweed. Each ration was estimated to provide 5.4 MJ (1.3 Mcal)/d of metabolisable energy (ME). The sheep readily ingested the fresh or dried duckweed. None of the wool measures (yield, rate of fibre elongation, fibre diameter) differed (p>0.05) between dietary treatments. In Experiment 2, oaten-chaff-based diets (800 g/d) supplying 6.5-7.2 MJ (1.6-1.7 Mcal)/d of ME were supplemented with iso-nitrogenous amounts (4-5 g N) either of urea (8 g), cottonseed meal (60 g) or dried duckweed (100 g). In this experiment, the rate of wool fibre elongation, thought to be related to intestinal amino acid absorption, was lower (p<0.05) for sheep given the oaten chaff/urea diet than for those given either oaten chaff/cottonseed meal or oaten chaff/duckweed for which the rates did not differ (p>0.05). Fibre diameter, which ranged from 16.0-16.7 mm, did not differ (p>0.05) between diets, but tended to be lower on the oaten chaff/urea diet so that volume of wool produced was also significantly lower (p<0.05) on this diet than on the diets containing duckweed or cottonseed meal. Rumen ammonia concentrations at 4.5 and 7.5 h after feeding were higher (p<0.05) for sheep given the oaten chaff/urea diet than for those given the other two diets. A comparison of the rumen ammonia concentrations, wool growth rate and predicted flows of amino acids from the rumen of sheep supplemented with duckweed rather than cottonseed meal suggested that duckweed is a valuable source of 'escape protein' for ruminants.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.481-485
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• 1992

In order to upgrade native sheep, Rambouillet (R) rams were mated to Kaghani (K) ewes to generate F1 ($R{\times}K$) crossbred ewes. Crossbred ewes were backcrossed to Rambouillet rams to produce B1 ($R{\times}F1$), B2 ($R{\times}B1$) and B3 ($R{\times}B2$) genotypes. Weaning weight of 2605 lambs and wool weight of 2378 mature ewe records, representing R, K, F1, B1, B2 and B3 genotypes, were analyzed to compare genetic variation among genotypes produced during upgrading process and identify genotypes of the highest performance. Performance of Rambouillets was also evaluated under semi-temperate climate. Data were adjusted for yearly variation considering Rambouillet as a control. Genotypes influenced lambs weaning weight (p<.01). B1 lambs were heaviest (18.4 kg) followed in order by B2, F1, B3, R and K lambs (18.3, 17.9, 16.9, 16.8 and 13.2 kg, respectively). The highest wool production was 2.5 kg from R ewes followed by B2 (2.3), B3 (2.3), F1 (2.0) and K (1.2) ewes (p < .01). Ewe mating weight, reproduction, growth and wool production of Rambouillets deteriorated significantly after the first decade of their importation. Compared with the first phase (1959-1971), ewe mating weight, litter size, birth weight, lamb weaning weight and wool production declined by 20, 23, 32 and 36%, respectively, in the second phase (1972-1988).

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1335-1340
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• 2011

Different genetic parameters for weaning weight and wool traits were estimated using restricted maximum likelihood (REML) in Angora rabbits. Total wool yield of first (I), second (II) and third (III) clips were taken as a separate trait under study. The records from more than 2,700 animals were analysed through fitting six animal models with various combinations of direct and maternal effects. A log likelihood ratio test was used to select the most appropriate model for each trait. Direct heritability estimates for the wool traits were found to be moderate to high across different models. Heritability estimates obtained from the best model were 0.24, 0.22, 0.20 and 0.21 for weaning weight, clip I, II and III; respectively. Maternal effects especially due to permanent environment had higher importance at clip I and found to be declining in subsequent clips. The estimates of repeatability of doe effect on wool traits were 0.44, 0.26 and 0.18 for clip I, II and III; respectively. Weaning weight had moderately high genetic correlations with clip I (0.57) and II (0.45), but very low (0.11) with clip III. Results indicated that genetic improvement for wool yield in Angora rabbit is possible through direct selection. Further, weaning weight could be considered as desirable trait for earliest indirect selection for wool yield in view of its high genetic correlation with wool traits.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.1106-1109
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• 2001

This experiment was conducted with 30 adult wool producing Angora rabbits of either sex, to evaluate the effect of replacing soyflakes (SF), on equal protein basis, with low gossypol containing cottonseed meal (CSM) either alone or in combination with lysine and methionine; on the biological performance, total wool yield, wool yield per shearing, wool characteristics and mortality. Three experimental mash diets were prepared by incorporating SF (6%) as standard / control protein source $(T_1)$ and CSM (9%) as test protein source ($T_2$ and $T_3$). In $T_3$, amino acids-lysine and methionine (0.1 % each) were added. Animals were given the experimental diets about $150g{\cdot}day^{-1}{\cdot}head^{-1}$, for a period of 225 d or three shearing, and ad libitum Kudzu-vines. No significant effect of $T_2$ or $T_3$, on the body weight gain, total wool yield, wool yield per shearing and wool characteristics, was observed compared to $T_1$. However, the digestibility of dry matter, crude fibers, ether extract, acid detergent fibers, neutral detergent fibers, cellulose and hemicellulose was significantly (p<0.05) depressed in CSM based diets. Mortality of about 20% was recorded in $T_2$ and $T_3$, but not related to the addition of CSM or gossypol toxicity. More studies are needed to standardize the safe level of CSM, duration of safe feeding of CSM, and level of amino acids supplementation in CSM based diets.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.7
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• pp.1123-1128
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• 1999

Sheep meat is the most expensive meat in developed countries. Consumption is dependent on cultural factors and will increase as population and incomes grow. In the main exporting countries (New Zealand and Australia), sheep numbers are decreasing as the market for wool is declining. Sheep meat production will develop in small and medium scale commercial systems, close to their markets.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.12
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• pp.1921-1929
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• 2021

Objective: The intestinal microbiota enhances nutrient absorption in the host and thus promotes heath. Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep is an important livestock raised in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau; however, little is known about the bacterial microbiota of its intestinal tract. The aim of this study was to detect the microbial characterization in the intestinal tract of the Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep. Methods: The bacterial profiles of the six different intestinal segments (duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, colon and rectum) of Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep were studied using 16S rRNA V3-V4 hypervariable amplicon sequencing. Results: A total of 2,623,323 effective sequences were obtained, and 441 OTUs shared all six intestinal segments. The bacterial diversity was significantly different among the different intestinal segments, and the large intestine exhibited higher bacterial diversity than the small intestine. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Patescibacteria were the dominant phyla in these bacterial communities. Additionally, at the genus level, Prevotella_1, Candidatus_Saccharimonas, and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-005 were the most predominant genus in duodenal segment, jejunal and ileal segments, and cecal, colonic, and rectal segments, respectively. We predicted that the microbial functions and the relative abundance of the genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism were overrepresented in the intestinal segments of Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep. Conclusion: The bacterial communities and functions differed among different intestinal segments. Our study is the first to provide insights into the composition and biological functions of the intestinal microbiota of Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep. Our results also provide useful information for the nutritional regulation and production development in Qinghai semi-fine wool sheep.