R. G. Thebault

Angora rabbit wool production: non-genetic factors affecting quantity and quality of wool

A study was made of the wool production of 490 females and 137 males of a strain of French Angora rabbit. The female adults weighed 4107 g and produced 249 g of wool every 14 weeks. Production was low for the first harvest (35 g) which consisted mainly of short wool. It then increased rapidly (203 g for the third harvest). After the third harvest, three-quarters of long wool was also bristly. The length of bristles (102 mm) decreased by 4 mm, and that of downs (62 mm) increased by 3 mm when the harvest number went from two to four. The coefficient of correlation between wool production and live weight was lower than 0·30. Adult females born in autumn produced 16 g more than those born in summer. Wool production was at a maximum during autumn and winter harvests and at a minimum in summer. Winter fleeces had longer bristles and down than summer ones. Males produced well wool than females. When a female dropped a litter, her wool production decreases by proportionately 0·1 to 0·2. Bristly fleeces were clearly different from woolly fleeces on account of higher weight, homogeneity and compression. Objective criteria to evaluate tautness will have to found.