Research
Effect of sex and rearing system on the quality and mineral content of fiber from raeini cashmere goats
1 Razi Vaccine & Serum Research Institute, Kerman Branch, 76175, Kerman, Iran
2 Animal Science Research Institute of Iran, Dehghan Villa, 31585, Karaj, Iran
3 Department of Agriculture, Faculty of Animal Science, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology 2012, 3:20 doi:10.1186/2049-1891-3-20
Published: 25 June 2012Abstract
The aim of this study was to compare the quality characteristics and mineral content of the fiber from male and female cashmere goats raised under different management systems. Male and female Raeini cashmere goats (<1.5 years of age, n = 48) were selected from flocks raised at a government breeding station or raised commercially under either rural or nomadic conditions. The staple length, cashmere fiber diameter, coefficient of variation for fiber diameter, percentage of cashmere in a fleece, percentage of guard hair in a fleece and cashmere tenacity averaged 4.6 ±0.1 cm, 18.0 ±0.1 μm, 20.9 ± 0.4%, 66.1 ± 1.5%, 33.8 ± 1.5% and 1.8 ± 0.2 gf/tex, respectively. The sulfur, copper and zinc content of the cashmere averaged 2.8 ± 0.1%, 0.00065 ± 0.00002% and 0.01276 ± 0.00025%, respectively. Rearing method significantly affected staple length, coefficient of variation of fiber diameter, cashmere tenacity and copper content. Males had a higher coefficient of variation of fiber diameter and cashmere tenacity than females (P < 0.05).
