Investigation of wool fiber yield and moisture regain properties of four Ethiopian sheep breeds

Abstract

Ethiopia has indigenous breeds of sheep such as Washera, Menz, Farta, and Tikur. Small-scale enterprises are using the wool fibers from these breeds to produce local products such as rugs, socks, sweaters, quilts, and mattresses. This study investigates four Ethiopian sheep breeds wool fiber yield and moisture regain properties. Four hundred total sheep, of which 50% males and 50% female sheep, were included in the study. The result revealed that the average wool fiber yield according to the IWTO CWC standard of male sheep for Washera, Menz, Farta, and Tikur were 89.29%, 88.29%, 73.33%, and 81.74%, and for female sheep were 88.75%, 81.91%, 73.23%, and 80.80%, respectively. The selected Ethiopian wool fiber yield showed higher as compared to other sheep breeds of some countries. The study also revealed that the raw wool fiber moisture regain values of Washera, Menz, Farta, and Tikur were 10.67%, 16.91%, 11.11%, and 10.71% for male sheep and 11.92%, 15.91%, 11.83%, and 9.22% for female sheep, respectively. This shows that the Ethiopian wool fiber having good fiber yield and moisture regain can be used as a source of manufacturing different wool products.