Bulk and fibre diameter affect leather and woolskin quality of lamb skins
D.R. Scobie, S.M. Cooper, A. Passman and S.R. Young
AgResearch, PO Box 60, Lincoln 8152, New Zealand.
Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production. 1997,
57: 77-80
Poll Dorset x Romney lambs were chosen from a group of 300 on
the basis of measured diameter and bulk. The selected lambs made up four
groups of twenty, that had the four possible combinations of low (LD) or
high diameter (HD) (29 or 32 um), and low (LB) or high bulk (HB) (22 or
26 cm³/g). Pelts were recovered at slaughter, assessed for woolskin
tanning, processed to dyed crust leather and scored for the grain
surface defect known as pinhole (1 to 5, best to worst). Suitability for
woolskins was greatest for the high bulk groups (LDHB, 20; HDHB, 18),
and least for the HDLB group (5), with the LDLB group intermediate (13).
More pelts were found to exhibit pinhole in the high bulk groups (HDHB,
16; LDHB, 16 vs HDLB, 8; LDLB,10) and mean pinhole scores were higher (p
<0.001) for these groups (HDHB, 2.5; LDHB, 2.4, vs LDLB, 1.7; HDLB,
1.5). Woolskins are a more appropriate product for finer and bulkier
wool types, whereas less bulky wools of high diameter lend themselves to
leather production, because they are unsuitable for woolskins and less
prone to pinhole.
Keywords: NZSAPAB;
pinhole; wool-on tanning; pelt; crust leather; terminal sire.
Last Updated 12-09-1998
