Characteristics of Angora rabbit fiber using optical fiber diameter analyzer

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Textile Science
• Fiber Science

Background:

• Angora rabbit wool is a valuable textile material.
• Understanding fiber characteristics is crucial for quality assessment and breeding programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize French Angora rabbit fiber using optical fiber diameter analyzer (OFDA).
• To evaluate the influence of age and harvest season on fiber properties.
• To assess the correlation between fiber characteristics and total fleece weight.

Main Methods:

• Collected 349 fleece samples from 60 French Angora rabbits.
• Utilized OFDA to measure: mean fiber diameter, CV of fiber diameter, comfort factor, spinning fineness, fiber curvature, opacity, medullation, and diameter along length.
• Employed a mixed model to analyze fixed effects (group, season, age) and random effects (animal).
• Calculated correlations between fleece weight, compression, and OFDA measurements.

Main Results:

• Mean fiber diameter increased with age, alongside CV of fiber diameter, diameter along length, and curvature.
• Comfort factor and compression decreased with age.
• Mean medullated fiber percentage was low (0.1-7.3%), mean comfort factor was high (97.5%).
• Mean fiber diameter and diameter along length positively correlated with total fleece weight.
• Harvest season significantly affected some fiber characteristics.

Conclusions:

• OFDA is suitable for evaluating fiber diameter, CV, and bristle content via comfort factor in Angora rabbits.
• OFDA requires new calibration or definition for accurate opacity and medulla measurement.
• Spinning fineness measurement needs adaptation for Angora rabbit wool.
• Fiber characteristics change significantly from 8 to 105 weeks of age.