Effects of skirting on yield, fineness, and value of wool from fine-wool range ewes

Eighty-one mixed-age (2 to 8 yr old) Rambouillet ewes (58.5 kg, SD 5.9 kg) were randomly assigned to three treatment groups that contained similar numbers to study the effects of wool skirting on clean yield, fiber diameter, and prices received for fine wool. The sheep were managed as a single flock on an experimental ranch close to Barnhart, TX during the 4-yr study. Two fleece-skirting techniques (SK1 and SK2) were compared with a control procedure in which fleeces were not skirted before packaging (original bag, OB method). Skirted wools were higher yielding (P < .05) and contained less vegetable matter (P < .05) than skirts. However, clean yield and vegetable matter content of skirted and OB wools were not different (P > .05). Weight-averaged prices received for grease wool from the SK1, SK2, and OB treatments over the 4-yr period were 4.49, 4.36, and 3.83 $/kg, respectively. Prices received for both types of skirted wool plus skirts were higher (P < .05) than prices received for OB wool.