Contribution of research on the types of sheep and the quality of wool in the territory of the Republic of Croatia

Abstract

In the Republic of Croatia the presence of autochthonic breeds of sheep »Pramenka« is mostly spread, whereas some other breeds, such as »Cigaja« and »Solčavsko-jezerska« are not so widely represented. In addition to them there are crossbred sheep. Since they are bred in different climatic conditions (Mediterranean to severely mountainous), many various breeds were developed. In this paper physical-chemical examinations of different samples of wool fibers of autochthonic breeds of sheep are described in order to find out the differences which could be a starting point for pursuing the quality of wool of newly cross bred sheep. All examined wool, fibers belong to the group of coarser ones. The climatic conditions of the breeding of sheep and the quality or »richness« of nutrition of the same breeds produce fibers with different chemical properties. The examinations of the chemical structure of wool of different homebred sheep showed that the wools of sheep bred in more severe climatic conditions (Lika) have better dyeing properties than the sheep bred in milder climatic conditions (Pag).